


ACT II - The Tiger of Nordion

by Sylvas



Series: Cinders of the Emblem [7]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes
Genre: (openly discussed but discouraged), Also Genny is a badass, F/F, Master Knight Lachesis, PTSD, Suicidal Thoughts, Vaguely Attempted Suicide, also hey if you're not doing well, and for you too!, for these girls, grossly overpowered Rewarp staves, i care about you unknown reader!, i promise everything will be okay, many references to fe4 manga, staff users in general are heavily glorified
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-06-25 22:13:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 55,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15649956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sylvas/pseuds/Sylvas
Summary: Lachesis has earned a reputation for herself as one of the Order of Heroes' most powerful fighters, thanks to her training as a Master Knight. Little is known about her by the other Heroes - no one else seems to know her, after all - but on the battlefield her fury and power speak for themselves.With Veronica now attacking from two separate worlds and the Order stretched thin, Lachesis leads a small team of defenders to restrain the Emblian forces in the World of Radiance while Kiran liberates the World of Shadows. She'll have to operate without Kiran's guidance or her ability to summon additional heroes - or to un-summon wounded ones - but she's not daunted by the challenge. She's fought hard battles before. Surviving is something Lachesis is very, very good at.Even if she wishes she wasn't.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Huge, huge thanks to my beloved editor/co-writer ScarletLotus. She's always working hard behind the scenes to keep my writing quality consistent but in this case this work is as much hers as mine. I can never overstate how much better she's made this story, from conception all the way to the final editing touches.

_May 17_

 

Lachesis wasn't sure how long she stood atop the battlement, staring into the eastern horizon. The sky was clear and the morning sun beamed almost directly into her face; the light was far from comfortable, but she didn't turn away. Even being out here in full view of heaven and hell was better than waiting inside the keep. So she just kept her eyes focused on the land below the distant mountains - the Order's newest and, so far, most dangerous battleground: Crimea. 

She hadn't seen much of it, strictly speaking. Kiran had forbidden her from riding around with the Order's leadership as entourage no less than three times, and to the girl's credit she'd clearly managed to make it home safe, but that didn't make the catastophe of Crimea any less damning for the Order itself. Sure, one may believe that there are no wars in which one army triumphs without error, but it would be generous to describe recent events as "defeats". 

Kiran had been rather soundly outdone. That was all there was to it. 

"Lady Lachesis." Behind her was Klein - she recognized his voice, she'd fought alongside him a few times now. She turned her head slightly to acknowledge him, but not far enough to see him. "The third defense team has arrived. I brought them to speak with you, as you asked." 

Ah. Lachesis nodded. "Thank you, General," she said tersely. "I'll take it from here." As she turned around fully, she saw Klein's dignified salute before he turned to take his leave, and then she saw her new subordinates. Kiran had warned her, before their parting, that some newcomers to the Order would be joining her, but she hadn't been given much more information than that. So it came as a pleasant surprise that the four of them all seemed to be mages... exactly what she had been lacking. 

"I am called Princess Lachesis of Nordion," she began, curtsying for them as they fanned out to take her in. "One would have your names, as well."

"Does that mean you're asking for them?" one of the women asked, squinting at her. Lachesis sighed; she had run into this particular problem a few times now, not least of all with Kiran herself...

"Yes," she said icily, "it does." 

"I am Celica," began the red-haired woman in front, responding with a curtsy of her own. "My friends," she continued, gesturing back to the others, "Mae and Boey, and Genny." Mae waved, Boey bowed faintly, and Genny met Lachesis' gaze but seemed a little too shy to do anything else. Either way, Lachesis inclined her head to each of them in silent greeting. "We grew up together in a priory, in a place called Novis." 

"Well met," Lachesis said, nodding to Celica. "You are newcomers to the Order of Heroes, correct? What have you been briefed on?" 

"Perhaps it would be best to start from the beginning," Celica offered with a faint, sheepish smile. "It seems that we were summoned in a time of need, so there wasn't much explanation about what was going on before we arrived here."

Lachesis nodded faintly - she never liked breaches in ceremony, but given the Order's current situation a feeling of urgency and haste was justified. "I'll explain quickly," she said curtly. "There's a lot to cover." 

She turned and gestured out to the countryside before them. "This place is called Crimea," she explained. "And this continent is called Tellius, but the Order will refer to it as the World of Radiance. Princess Veronica of Embla began fielding attacks on Askr from this world some three weeks ago, and in retaliation the Order led an attacking force through this gate into the world itself." 

She turned back to the wall and began to pace, hands clasped behind her back. "This is the mission of the Order of Heroes," she continued. "In her campaign against Askr, Veronica somehow corrupts the worlds she visits in order to gain some kind of power over its inhabitants, then gathers their strongest warriors to add to her own forces. We push into the heart of these worlds, force her to end occupation, and undo the corruption she's caused, returning free will to her ill-gotten armies. That has been our mission in several worlds before this, and such was the plan here in Crimea, as well. But Veronica was prepared for our incursion this time, and has stalled us for several weeks." 

She returned her attention to Celica. "During this time," Lachesis said, "Veronica was able to corrupt a second world, which was something we did not realize she was capable of - maintaining control over multiple worlds at once. The Order's tactician has since shifted her focus to the other world, as she believes it will be easier to cleanse more quickly. Crimea remains occupied by Emblian forces, however, and there remains a threat that they'll attempt to attack Askr through the gate at the heart of this castle while the Order's attention is elsewhere."

"So," Boey said slowly, "we're here to defend it until she gets back." Lachesis nodded. 

"If Veronica takes this castle," she said, "it's likely we will be unable to stop her from attacking Askr afterward, and pushing back through the gate to cleanse the World of Radiance will become all but impossible. To that end, one has been asked to hold this castle, and that is what we will do."

"Oh, so you're the big shot General around here, then," Mae exclaimed.

"No General," Lachesis corrected quietly. "Merely one with much experience with war." SHe supposed she couldn't fault Kiran's choice to trust in her. The tactician had explained her reasoning at the time as though Lachesis would protest, but anymore Lachesis was most comfortable with a weapon in her hand and a battle to fight; she had no greater purpose to serve as things were, so if Kiran believed she could hold this fortress, thats what Lachesis would do. 

_"No one here has as much experience in castle-to-castle warfare as you,"_ Kiran had said. That much was true. She didn't like to think about it... but it was true. 

"One is relieved and grateful to have mages to assist in the defense," she continued. "I trust that you are all comfortable with combat via magic, then?" Mae and Boey both nodded firmly, and Celica more slowly, touching a sword at her side. 

"Magic is my preference," Celica murmured. 

Behind them, Genny scooted out to the side, allowing herself to be visible. "I-I'm mostly a healer," she said, and Lachesis instinctively showed a faint smile, a reflexive and mostly empty attempt to be comforting. "I hope that's..."

"It's perfect," Lachesis said calmly. "We've gathered many powerful staves for us to use, and it will be good to have someone else that can use them along with me. That said, then - I am appointing the four of you together as a team. Team Novis, perhaps, if that pleases you. Celica shall be your leader, and I will communicate orders through her as appropriate." 

"That's fine by me," Boey said easily. Genny nodded.

"Alright!" Mae cheered, grinning. "We're on the job!"

But Celica just smiled mutedly and nodded. "As you wish," she said softly. "How shall I refer to you, your highness?"

Lachesis bristled. She didn't like to be called by her title. Not anymore. "By name is acceptable," she replied quietly.

Celica nodded again. "Very well then, Lachesis. What are our orders?"

 

To aid in her defense of the world gate, Lachesis was only allowed three teams of four, so she'd asked for specific compositions to cover all her bases. One, Celica's, to wield magic of varying types against the enemy at range; another with archers and wyverns, this one led by the Archer General Klein of Etruria, who would serve as the castle's primary scouts and watchers, and a third of riders and armored knights to act as the defenders of the castle gate itself, this one led by Princess Sheena of Gra. 

It had only been a couple of days, but things had been quiet so far, so Lachesis had spent that time preparing her defenses. The wyvern riders were afield gathering weapons, tomes and staves; the cavaliers were gathering provisions and supplies from a neighboring village in case a siege were to occur. Sheena and Klein put the newcomers to work barricading parts of the castle they weren't using, shoring up cracked or crumbled sections of wall... Lachesis wanted this place as sturdy as possible. If Kiran was going to use more conventional tactics then there was no saying that Veronica couldn't as well, and that meant preparation for powerful magic, or even mundane siege weapons. She wouldn't let them catch her off guard. 

But there was one exception. One caveat, the last thing she had explained to Team Novis before dismissing them, just as Kiran had explained to the others before returning to Askr. If Veronica were to find a knight wielding a divine sword, entirely encased in pitch-black armor... if that man were to stand before the castle, Kiran's orders were clear and strict: abandon Tellius. Entirely. 

The others seemed to think it excessive. Lachesis assumed they had never seen a divine sword before. 

Whoever this man was, though, it seemed that he had proven elusive for both sides, and as long as he remained hidden the defense was still possible. Kiran seemed unsure whether or not he was even alive. Lachesis wanted to be ready for anything, but there was no sense in planning to fail from the beginning. They'd assume that the black knight was a myth, or would stay out of the fight at least, and plan from there. All they had to do was ensure that no one got inside the castle. Simple enough, when one knows how to use a castle properly. 

Come sunset, one of the cavaliers, Abel, would prepare dinner for everyone; most of the defenders gathered in the great hall to eat, save Klein and Gordin who remained outside on watch until the wyvern riders finished and took over their shifts. The hall was much livelier for Team Novis' presence - which is to say, for _Mae's_ presence, whose cheerful exuberance and friendliness was enough to maintain conversation at the table well after everyone had finished eating. 

Lachesis, for her part, remained quiet, watching them from the end of the table until directly spoken to. And they seemed to get the message. She didn't especially want to talk. It wasn't their fault; they were at least fun to listen to, and Lachesis would rather have their company than none at all. It wasn't their fault how familiar this all felt. So, she wouldn't make it their problem. She would just do her best to enjoy their energy until it was time for her to rest. 

It struck her as a bit of a surprise to see that Celica was very quiet, too.

She wasn't totally silent - Mae addressed her often, and she'd lift her head and smile a delicate little smile and say something soft and gentle and brief, and then conversation would turn away from her again, and Celica would look back down at her food, poking silently at it with her fork. Lachesis noted after a time that Celica was eating very, very slowly, and her progress was barely visible as everyone else - including Lachesis - was finishing up. 

The princess was not the only one to notice. "Lady Celica," Klein said, in one of the very rare pauses between Mae's bubbly chatter, "are you feeling well?" The table's lull turned to a cold, shocked silence, as everyone's attention shifted to Celica - and to her plate. Celica herself looked up at him with a faint, lightless smile.

"I'm alright," she said apologetically. "I'm just not very hungry tonight."

"Celica, you've got to eat," Mae added. Her voice was low and serious, and felt out of character compared to her bombastic volume just moments before. Celica turned to her in shock and fright. 

"I have, and I am," she snapped, at first very sincerely, but then gathering herself and smiling more coyly, an odd glint in her eyes. "You needn't babysit me, Mae." 

"It's not babysitting," Mae murmured. Boey nudged her. 

"Just take care to keep your strength up," he said diplomatically. "After all, an attack could come at any time."

"Yes, you're right." Celica nodded her agreement, and took another bite of her food as if in concession. 

"You needn't eat it if it's not to your liking," Klein added, somewhat more bemusedly. "I think our chefs could take the blow to their pride."

"It's very good," Celica said softly. 

"It's a hell of a lot better than the gamey stuff we used to eat on the road," Mae groaned. "Isn't it?" Celica offered a slow, dutiful nod, and Mae took over the table again. Lachesis remained silent, watching, sourcelessly preturbed. 

 

Lachesis had the third night watch shift, which started just a little while past what would be a reasonable bedtime most places. Not that staying awake bothered her, or really mattered at all. She wasn't really an avid sleeper anyway. 

She preferred to be outside. The nights in Crimea were clear and the stars manifold and beautiful. The moon shone high in the late spring sky, casting its pale light across the valley and bathing the woods in a reverent blue-white that left them pallid, almost ghostly, compared to the vibrant green of midday. This was a beautiful place, most certainly. Lachesis had always tried to make a point of appreciating the beauty of her surroundings, if nothing else. 

She paced the castle's outer wall all but mindlessly, eyes cast towards the horizon, watching for an errant movement that could be the first sign of an attack. She didn't envy the work of a true castle's guard, whose lot was to stand at the corner of one of these walls and wait, with no indiciation that they'd ever see what they were waiting for, day after day for months and years and decades if one was lucky. Even this much, with something she knew to watch for, Lachesis found it difficult to bear without her thoughts drifting into darkness. Always she tried to center herself on her surroundings. The pastel moonlight reflected on leaves, flickering in the breeze like stars. The distant mountains faintly cutting into the midnight sky, a subtle division between earth and the heavens. The faint glow of lingering firelight from the castle town below... 

She'd seen all these things before... 

But here they were unique and new. The stars were new. She braced against a battlement and craned her neck upward, searching for new constellations. The stars - here, and in every world, the stars were not quite what she remembered. The shapes she knew as a girl weren't present in these foreign skies. She had never been good at tracing constellations in the first place, though... they sparkled in her vision, but held no substance, a distant light that barely registered in her mind compared to the total darkness all around her. 

They were beautiful, but... 

"I wouldn't have taken you for the stargazing sort," called a voice from behind. Lachesis whirled, startled - it was Boey, some ten yards distant on a different tier of the castle walls; he had taken the same watch shift as her. "Sorry to interrupt," he added hastily. Lachesis wondered if she looked upset. 

"It's a matter of curiosity," Lachesis said indifferently, glancing skyward again. "Each world one visits shows different patterns in the sky. One has become accustomed to searching for them as a... source of occupation." 

"That does sound kind of interesting," Boey agreed thoughtfully. "So, can I ask you something kind of personal? Obviously you don't have to answer if you don't want."

"Ask," Lachesis hummed. "But maintain low hopes." 

"Fair enough, I was just wondering - what drove you to join the Order of Heroes?" 

Lachesis pressed her lips tightly together. The question washed over her and then dripped off of her. 

"I wasn't really sure about it when they asked me," Boey was continuing, "but when I said that, they seemed really surprised, you know? I guess most people, or at least around here, take up arms at the first sign of trouble. It's just in my nature to be more cautious."

"Caution is a virtue," Lachesis agreed numbly, eager to distract him from her non-answer. 

"I mostly wound up joining because Mae and Celica did," he sighed. "It's not like I really have anywhere to go without them, and I'd like to keep them out of trouble anyhow. Is there somebody like that for you?" 

Lachesis' lips and throat felt awfully dry. "No," she croaked.

"Are you more of the 'heroic' type of - "

"I don't wish to answer." 

"Oof, alright." He brushed out his cloak. "Can I ask something else, then?"

"No." Lachesis began to pace along the wall again. "We should continue our watch." 

"Sheesh," Boey muttered. She probably wasn't supposed to hear it, but she did. "Didn't realize it would be such a touchy subject."


	2. Chapter 2

Light streamed through the dusty air of the western hall as Lachesis stepped into it - it was a nostalgic sight, and one deeply familiar and relieving to her. She hadn't thought she'd ever see this place again... 

"Finn?" she called, but her voice was weak, and all at once her feeling of comfort was ripped away. The castle was far too silent. She gulped, and tried again: "Finn...? A-Are you here...?" 

"You never loved him."

She gasped and whirled - at the far end of the hall a small girl stood at the center of a doorway, watching Lachesis with a petrifying gaze despite her miniscule stature. She recognized this girl on sight. "N-Nanna," she gasped, trying to feel relief, but she couldn't move. 

"You never loved me, either," Nanna said, her voice sharp and biting and far too old for a girl so small. "You ran away from us when we needed you." 

"No," Lachesis cried. "No, no --! Your brother was - I wished only for his safety, for all of our safety - "

"You never loved Father," she snapped. "You broke his heart, and then you killed him."

"T-That's not true!" Lachesis' strength failed her, but she couldn't fall to her knees. The floor was gone, but she was paralyzed and couldn't move; the hall was engulfed in towering flames now, crackling all around her, and in the waves of heat she realized a tall, billowing sillhouette stood behind her daughter, an open tome in one outstretched hand. 

"For the depth of your failure," boomed Arvis, "this is the fate you and your kin deserve."

" _NO!!!_ " Every fiber of Lachesis' being tried to lunge forward, pulling against her ethereal restraints with all of her might, but she was utterly powerless. She couldn't move, she couldn't breathe, she could only watch through the smoke, screaming wordlessly at the top of her lungs.

But through her breaking, withering voice, Arvis' chilling whisper still reached her loud and clear: "Let them serve their sentence right here."

 

Lachesis was sitting up. The sheets were a mess, half torn from the bed and scarcely covering her at all. The nightmare was fading rapidly into memory. Her heart was pounding in terror, but calming slowly, the source of its panic unknown. 

_No use in staying in bed like this,_ Lachesis thought, rising slowly from the bed; her legs were shaking and she was drenched in sweat, but that was a simple material problem, easily resolved. 

Nanna's name was on her lips, but she refused to speak it. It would go away on its own.

 

_May 20_

 

Lachesis did her best to stay busy during the day, but as each day passed without incident, that became harder and harder. Kiran sent a messenger in the mornings for Lachesis to consult, so that they could be apprised of one another's situations; progress in the World of Shadows was slow, but steady, and Kiran seemed to optimistically believe that the resistance Veronica was showing elsewhere meant giving up the chance to attack Lachesis. Lachesis didn't have much a mind for strategy - though perhaps she should endeavor to change that - but thinking about it, this seemed to be the optimal approach by both armies. Kiran had handled her defeat very well, if that were the case. 

Still, that status quo could change at any time, so the defenders needed to be ready for an attack all the same. Unfortunately, this was where Lachesis' experience was not as strong. Most of what she knew involved _attacking_ castles; with the constant pressure to move from place to place, there hadn't ever been any key defenses that Lachesis had been involved in. When given a plot of land and told to prevent anyone from getting into it, Lachesis wasn't sure what else to do.

For the time being, they were preoccupied with the basics. Surviving a siege was little different from surviving a long, cropless winter, so they were still preparing their stockpile of food and supplies. The castle was worn and in disrepair, so they were still reinforcing its structural integrity, strengthening the walls and blocking off unused corridors. They day passed by her in a flash, as long as she kept herself buried in some task, but she wondered if there were more she ought to be doing, things she hadn't thought of. It was a nagging worry that only grew more and more intense as the day went on. 

In the late afternoon, each of the team leaders were to check in with her and report the status of their tasks for the day, before they would gather to arrange their watch shifts and prepare dinner. But Celica didn't report in that day. Mae did. She seemed awkwardly aware that her presence was a breach of conduct, so Lachesis didn't even need to ask - Celica had clearly put her up to this.

When they'd all given their status, she dismissed Klein and Sheena, but requested Mae stay behind. They sat together in the barracks above the main gate. Mae's false smile faded away, and in its place she watched Lachesis with a stonefaced glare. 

"Where is Celica?" Lachesis asked, softly and seriously. 

"She wanted to stay behind in the library," Mae said lowly. "Asked us to go on ahead of her, and said that she'd catch up."

Lachesis' eyes narrowed. "What was she doing?" 

Mae took a deep breath, and sighed it out shortly, almost impatiently. "I don't know." 

"Do you trust that she will join us for dinner as she says?"

"I don't know." 

"Why don't you know?" Lachesis folded her arms. "I was under the impression that you trusted her."

"Of course I trust her," Mae snapped, turning cross. "A hell of a lot more than I trust you, that's for sure. So don't act all entitled to her like she's your servant, unless you want to go through me first." 

Lachesis stared at her, surprised but entirely unintimidated. Mae was shorter than her, and that was a rather impressive feat, but the mage was standing on her toes with a sort of spiteful insistence to make up the difference. 

"That wouldn't be difficult for me," Lachesis said, after a moment's silence.

"Are you threatening me?" Mae whispered fiercely. "All Celica did was give me her status update to give to you, and decide for herself where she wants to be for the evening, and you're going to threaten me over it?"

"It was more of an observation," Lachesis sighed, "but all that aside, Celica is my subordinate. I have been appointed as the commanding officer of this unit and as such I expect Celica to follow my orders. Perhaps you are all unfamiliar with how military hierarchy works?" 

"She's not feeling well," Mae snapped. "Leave her alone." 

"You were willing to threaten _me_ ," Lachesis said incredulously, "before you'd admit that she is feeling unwell?"

Mae was quiet for a moment. Her expression of defiance lingered, but began to crumble as Lachesis continued to study her; she dropped to her heels, her folded arms and tensed shoulders slumped, she shook her head and cast her gaze away. "She ordered me not to say so," Mae murmured. "What I said about trusting Celica more than you - that's true. I'm loyal to her first. So I'll cause trouble to keep her safe, if she asks me to." 

"That's good to know," Lachesis said darkly, closing her eyes. "I appreciate your willingness to be honest with me. You should go on to dinner." 

"As long as you're coming with me," Mae said slowly. 

"That's not for you to decide," Lachesis growled. 

"Listen, honey," Mae sighed, drawing herself up again, "I don't think you understand. I'm not intimidated. I'm not afraid of you. It's probably true you could split me in two with that sword of yours, but frankly I don't care. Celica asked to be left alone, so nobody is getting to her on my life. Got it? _Nobody._ "

"This is absurd," Lachesis sighed again, her anger rising - but Mae cut her off:

"Yeah!" She spread her arms wide. "I'm a crazy bitch! Nice to meet you! Deal with it!" And again, Lachesis was left nonplussed and speechless. She shook her head in disbelief. Who did she think she was?! Who did _Celica_ think she was?! "For all you know," Mae continued angrily, "you could be making a big deal out of nothing. Celica could be on her way to dinner _right now_ and everyone else will just be wondering where the hell we are, having the most pointless yelling match of all time. I don't care! I can do this all day!"

"You were given orders," Lachesis snarled. "Both of you were!"

"What could I even tell you at this point that would get you to leave her alone?" Mae continued, clearly ignoring her. "What would it take? I bet you're not even thinking about her at all, you're just thinking about your precious 'orders' and how much it bothers you that some people are still living their own lives out here and have priorities other than doing whatever some stuck-up princess tells them to do." 

Lachesis's arm whipped to her side and her sword was drawn and pointed at Mae before Mae could take another breath. The mage jumped and stepped back, startled, but swiftly recovered - and yelled at the top of her lungs, " _Are you crazy?! Are you seriously going to attack me over this?!_ "

"How dare you insult me," Lachesis hissed. "Such a display of disrespect cannot be tolerated from a subordinate." 

"Get a fucking clue!" Mae cried. "I _don't care!_ Already told you that! But I bet there are a few other people around here that would just LOVE for you to explain what you were thinking just now!" 

Lachesis blinked at her, confused - but all at once she pieced together Mae's meaning... seconds too late. That hadn't been a scream of surprise. It was a calculated tactical manuever. She hastily sheathed her blade, but the door had already opened and Klein had already rushed in, staring at the two of them in horror. 

"Lady Lachesis," he gasped. "What - what is the meaning of this?"

"There is no meaning to it," Lachesis snapped, ignoring the smug triumph in Mae's eyes. "I lost my temper. Let's return to the dining hall." 

"Yes," Mae hummed, "let's." 

Klein looked between the two of them in further confusion, but Lachesis walked past him without another word, arms tightly folded. For some reason her shoulders were shaking. 

 

Boey came to sit with her, as she was finishing her dinner. She hadn't looked up at any point while everyone was eating, but she could tell by the relative quiet of the table that Mae's attention was directly on her. So when she glanced up to see Boey, it rather surprised her. 

"How can I help you?" she asked, dryly. 

"I wanted to apologize for Mae's conduct today," he said quietly. Glancing over his shoulder, Lachesis observed that Celica had not come to dinner yet.

"That will be very difficult," Lachesis stiffly replied. "And where might your loyalty lie, mage of Novis? Perhaps one should expect insubordination from your priory island by default?" 

Boey sighed heavily, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't think she quite meant it like that," he murmured. "See, it's true that Mae and I - and Genny - we're all loyal to Celica first. She's our friend, and we all care about her. So when she needs something, we'll do what we can to help. Mae is a little more extreme about it than the rest of us, but..." 

"And you don't see a problem with this conflict of interest," Lachesis said wearily. 

"It's not a conflict of interest," said Boey. "Please don't take this the wrong way, your highness, but I really feel like you're blowing this out of proportion. Celica wasn't feeling well and needed to rest instead of coming to dinner. Mae offered to report in for her, and she agreed and asked us not to say too much about her condition, because she didn't want to trouble you with it. So that's what Mae did."

"And when she suspected I might go verify her claims myself," Lachesis continued, "she threatened me."

"Well, yes," Boey sighed, "like I said, she's a little more extreme about this than the rest of us are. She's just... worried about her. We're all kind of worried about her. Mae gets real defensive about it. She has a hard time keeping her cool when she feels, erm... powerless." 

"So," Lachesis said, "you'd have me interpret this situation differently. Let's begin again. Mae reported to me today instead of Celica. Where is she?"

"She was in the library when last I saw her," Boey said patiently. "I suspect she's gone to bed by now."

"Without her dinner?"

"Mae will probably take her something in a little while." 

"And she's doing this because she feels sick?"

Boey opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated. "Unwell," he clarified, cautiously. 

"Is this a chronic 'unwellness'," Lachesis murmured, "that I should expect to deal with consistently? Or may I have your assurance that it won't impede her ability to function as your team's leader?" 

Boey again hesitated, wincing this time. "I wish I could tell you," he sighed. 

"It sounds to me like I should check on her myself, then."

"You're welcome to try," Boey said, "but I can tell you right now that she won't say anything about it. She'll apologize for causing trouble and promise not to do it again, and - "

"And that's good enough," Lachesis interrupted darkly. "In fact, that begs the question; if Celica would respond in such a way, why are you misrepresenting her?"

"H-Haven't you..." Boey narrowed his eyes, bewildered. "Haven't you ever known someone that was wounded, but didn't act like it bothered them? They'll talk like they can walk it off, but they can barely stand on their own. You know?"

Lachesis tried to respond, but when her lips parted and she reached for her voice there weren't any words there. There wasn't anything there. She was empty and the abyss was swallowing her. 

"I guess that's not really your problem, though," Boey sighed, shaking his head. "I get it. You're worried about the defense. If you talk to Celica I'm sure she'll reassure you. Just... don't push her too hard, okay? At least let her rest for tonight."

"I-I'll consider it," Lachesis managed, not sure what she was going to consider. Boey nodded, and left her table. Lachesis didn't move. 

 

They reconvened to talk about watch shifts. Mae asked if Celica could be spared a watch that night since she wasn't feeling well. Lachesis nodded without thinking. She didn't have anything to say. They assigned her the second shift, along with Klein, and she nodded again. 

The hollowness wasn't going away. Everything felt cold and black, like she was walking through a crypt. She laid in bed, but the blankets didn't warm her at all. She was shivering. 

She did find, an hour late or worse, some of the words she'd wanted to say to Boey. _No, I've never known someone like that,_ it began. But after that it became a jumbled tangled mess of thoughts and memories, each so saturated with self-righteous fury that her heart lurched just trying to think about one. _You either carry on or die,_ was one of them. _Let her decide what pain she can bear,_ was another. But they all felt evasive. She felt sick imagining herself saying one. Like she was telling a lie. 

She hadn't slept, wasn't even sleepy, when Selena came to change the guard. Once she was outside Lachesis glared at everything, every single thing in her sight range, demanding that it distract her. When she saw Klein, she froze and backed out of his line of sight. She didn't wish to see him, to even have the chance to be spoken to. It didn't help.

_What drove you to join the Order of Heroes?_

Kiran sat down with every Hero, after they were summoned, to explain the Order of Heroes' purpose and mission. The tactician explained, patiently if nervously, that they had been summoned to a kingdom called Askr that was in desperate need of aid, against an enemy that threatened to disrupt an otherworldly balance and to possibly enslave multiple worlds to their will. Then Kiran asked if the Hero would be willing to join them. It was a reasonable proposition. 

_I guess most people, or at least around here, take up arms at the first sign of trouble._

They'd been surprised when Lachesis said no. 

_"No?" Princess Sharena had said, shocked. "I-I..."_

_"We'll respect your decision," Kiran had said hastily. "It's just a surprise, is all."_

_"My heart goes out to people of Askr," Lachesis had said, her voice even and tactful. "One sincerely hopes that the Order of Heroes succeeds in its mission. But one cannot join another's cause if it means abandoning one's own personal journey."_

_She had expected this to make sense. The Order's leadership seemed to be reasonable, kind people. But Sharena and Alfonse had exchanged bewildered glances, Kiran's face had drained of color, and Lachesis watched them with growing confusion._

_"Is that so strange?" she had asked._

_"The artifact is supposed to summon Heroes only after their journey is finished," Alfonse had said slowly, looking down at Kiran. "Did the summoning... make a mistake, somehow?"_

_"I'm so sorry to ask you this," Kiran whispered. "I really am, Lachesis. This is something I shouldn't ever have to ask one of our members. But... what's the last thing that you remember?"_

No, no, no, no! 

It couldn't be right! The summoning had just made her forget somehow! Somehow she'd just - she'd lost her memory of what came after. And yet every memory leading up to where things grew fuzzy was so crystal clear, so... agonizingly vivid. The look of growing fear on tiny little Nanna's face as she began to understand something was wrong, the grief painted on Finn's as he realized he could not convince Lachesis to stay. No - no!! She didn't want to see those things! They... that wasn't... there had to be more to it...

_"Lachesis," Finn pleaded, grasping her hands in his, "you can't go out there. Not now, not with what we've heard of the cult - "_

_"I must," Lachesis said firmly. "I must do this, Finn. I can't falter now, not when Diarmuid is in danger..."_

_"What are you implying?" Alfonse whispered, his eyes on Kiran and a hand over his mouth in horror. Kiran was hiding her face. Lachesis felt short of breath. She could feel what Kiran was about to say, but couldn't assemble the thought for herself._

_"I don't know if we can return you to Jugdral," Kiran repeated, her voice shaking and weak. "Lachesis, you... you were never seen again, once you crossed into the desert."_

And that was all. She remembered now. That was all there was. That was why, even though she'd said no, they couldn't return her to Jugdral and she'd decided to join them anyway. Because this was all she had left. They'd unsummon her. And she'd meet her end in the desert. And that would be that. 

_"How can you know that!?"_ she had shouted. But Kiran was a summoner. A historian, as well, to understand the many worlds from which she drew Heroes. She'd patiently explained, _"the world's history goes on, the cults are eradicated and Jugdral is freed, by your descendants. But they never find you."_

Good riddance. She had no reason to be attached to her life. It was just a... a waste. She was just a waste, and a failure. It wasn't like there was anything to go back to. Not really. They didn't need her. Nanna and Diarmuid were better off without her. Finn was better off without her pretending to love him, when they both knew her heart was forever sealed, broken and torn and blackened beyond repair. He was better off without the responsibility of propping up some charade for Lachesis, to pretend that maybe she could have a life she could be proud of. It was all just a waste of time in the end. 

Maybe, just maybe, as long as she did everything Kiran told her - maybe Kiran could succeed. But that wouldn't change Lachesis' fate. She was destined to fail.


	3. Chapter 3

_May 22_

 

"Are you well, Lady Lachesis?"

Lachesis stopped in her tracks and looked up slowly, incredulously, at Klein. He had stopped a pace or so ahead of her in the corridor, a bit late to realize she'd frozen in place. 

"What?" Lachesis asked icily, her voice deadpan. "Do I seem 'unwell' to you, General?" 

"You seem out of sorts, yes," Klein said carefully. "Not entirely yourself."

"How do you think you'd know if I were or were not 'myself'?"

"I..." Klein recoiled, grimacing. "I merely mean to express concern, milady." 

"Don't waste your time," Lachesis snapped. "There's no point in worrying over me. We have things to do." 

"Are you feeling alright?"

Lachesis whirled around, bewildered. It was hours later, midday rather than morning, and she was outside talking to Princess Sheena. The taller woman's scarlet eyes were narrowed, watching Lachesis keenly, and Lachesis instinctively wanted to shy away. 

"Of course I am," she snapped. "I - I lost track of time, is all."

"You've bags under your eyes," Sheena said slowly. "Have you been having trouble sleeping?"

"I've chosen to stay awake," Lachesis retorted. "Lack of sleep doesn't bother me."

"If you say so," Sheena murmured. "But let me say for the record that I would encourage you look after your health."

"Don't tell me what to do," Lachesis snarled. 

"I-I'm just trying to apologize," Mae stammered, backing away. They were inside now. Celica was here, too, watching them with an unreadable expression, almost as though disinterested. "Celica told me you two talked, and..."

"And we reached an understanding," Lachesis interrupted imperiously, glaring, arms folded. Now she was the one on her toes, eager to assert her meager height advantage over the smaller girl. She was used to it. Heeled shoes were not foreign to her. 

"Yeah," Mae mumbled. "I-I'm sorry I acted out like that. I just - I knew Lady Celica needed space, so I..." 

"Our duty to Lachesis and the Order of Heroes comes first," Celica said softly. 

"Do you want me to take an extra watch shift or anything like that to make up for it?" Mae offered with a nervous smile. "I know I talked a big game before and all, but - if Celica's committed to this, then I am, too. And besides, you seem like you could use a break! S-So maybe I could... a-ah..."

Lachesis bristled. Mae recoiled, and trailed off. They didn't speak for a moment.

"Let's get back to work," Lachesis growled. Celica nodded and bowed stiffly. 

"Thank you for hearing us out," Celica said softly. "I will see you tonight for our check-in." She swiftly left. Mae hesitated, and turned back to Lachesis. 

"What?" Lachesis sighed. Mae sighed, too, shaking her head.

"Nothing," the mage said quietly. "Sorry to bug you, again, ma'am." She followed behind Celica. Lachesis was left alone. 

All by herself, all alone with...

_"Lachesis, please don't take this the wrong way. You know how I am with words. I've been trying to figure out how to tell you this for weeks now. But - but everyone can tell you're still - "_

_"I'm fine, Ayra."_

_"Lachesis, you're **clearly not fine.** Stop lying! You're not doing anyone any favors by lying to us, or to yourself. We care about you, Lachesis. You're just going to ride yourself into an early grave like this."_

_"Maybe that's what I want."_

_"...I don't want that for you."_

_"I didn't ask you."_

_"Lachesis, why are you... like this? Is there nothing that could give you hope? Deirdre is still out there, somewhere, waiting for us! And your brother - "_

_"DON'T YOU FUCKING TALK ABOUT MY --- "_

Lachesis gasped, startled back to awareness, staggered by the castle's stale air and gasping for breath. She shook her head wildly, resting one hand over a temple as she tried to recall where she was. She was inside... the corridor she only dimly recognized, but as she traced back through the events of the day so far - what of them she remembered, anyway - it should be just about time for her to check in with the other team leaders. 

She sighed, slumping against the wall beside her, rubbing her eyes. She knew she wasn't kidding anyone, she wasn't a fool, but... what was she supposed to say? As the leader, if the others felt they couldn't trust in her strength and sound judgment, they'd lose cohesion and fall apart. Strong leadership was key to winning battles, she knew that very well, and she'd already done enough damage with Mae. She just wasn't as good at it, not compared to Sigurd or... gods forbid, her brother...

This had happened a few times now, but those incidents had been in the privacy of Askr, where she could return to her room and hide, or in the worst case take up a lance and forget herself in melee for a while. The last time, in fact, had been just after Eirika had invited her to a gathering of other princesses, a month ago or so now. It had been... nice... to be around others, but in the wake of it...

Here in the field, though, she didn't have the luxury of privacy, nor even the prospect of combat to clear her mind. She had no distractions whatsoever. Her nightmares were beginning to stick, and she was beginning to remember their endings. Every once in a while, something would happen around her that would remind her of... of someone she didn't want to remember. And she'd be buried in that memory for a little while. 

Everyone could tell it was happening. But Lachesis was... she didn't want to say anything. It wasn't their business, anyway, and she was tough enough to work through it. She just... couldn't compromise her leadership in the process, that's all. As long as they still respected her enough to follow her orders, it didn't matter. It was just a momentary distraction like always, and it would fade with time. 

"Do you think she's okay?" 

Lachesis instinctively froze up, her breath halting in her throat, but the voice was familiar and soft - Klein's, from behind a doorway near the end of the hall. She heard someone else's burdened sigh. 

"You wouldn't ask if she was," Sheena replied dully. 

"I suppose I wouldn't," Klein quietly agreed. "Did you have a chance to speak with her today?"

"Aye." Sheena sighed again; Lachesis, edging slowly towards the door to hear them better, heard Sheena's armor shift as the princess adjusted her footing. "I've been thinking about it since this morning. Wondering how to handle someone with her pride. But the more I think, the more I wonder if I've got that wrong." 

"Pride," Klein repeated softly. "I don't think she seems prideful, either. If anything, she's driven to ensure this defense is a success, but perhaps to a harmful extreme."

"That wouldn't be an unfamiliar feeling," Sheena sighed. "What do you think? Should we say something?"

"I think it's her business," said a third voice - so soft that Lachesis almost didn't catch it, a bitter monotone that she didn't recognize and left her feeling cold. "I think she's made it clear she doesn't wish to talk about it."

"I suppose I see your point," Klein murmured. "She definitely becomes, erm... testy, when you call attention to it." 

"I can see it both ways," Sheena added. "On the one hand, perhaps she should know that we're worried for her, and willing to lighten her load if that would make things better for her, and in turn all of us." Sheena paused; Klein hummed some agreement, and the third voice apparently must have nodded or something, because Sheena then continued: "On the other hand, by proposing that we think she needs help, we might lead her to feel that she's being undermined. Or worse, that we're plotting behind her back." 

Lachesis sighed, resting her head against the door. Her knees felt weak, and her head was swimming. This was agonizingly familiar. A memory she couldn't deny was taunting her, daring to envelop her. A man and a woman, a subordinate and a fellow princess, talking behind a door where they thought they couldn't be heard...

Did she really want a repeat of that drama...? 

She pushed the door open - Klein and Sheena gasped, but Lachesis' eyes were searching for the third voice, who by now she'd correctly guessed to belong to Celica. They stood at attention, and Lachesis shut the door behind her, arms behind her back, turning to Klein to address him. 

"Celica is correct," she said softly. "Your concern is appreciated, but if it's not immediately pertinent to our mission, please don't make a fuss out of it." 

Klein sighed. "Understood, ma'am." Sheena nodded. Celica was quiet and still, but Lachesis decided she didn't need to respond. 

 

They didn't have time to make it through the first status report before Beruka burst into the room, short of breath. "Something approaches," she panted, speaking directly to Lachesis. "More than a hundred, armed, from the ground."

"An attack?" Klein gasped. Lachesis hurried past him to one of the arrow slits, facing outward from above the main gate; sure enough, a crowd of people was approaching from the entrance into the valley. The late-afternoon sun glinted on their armor: definitely soldiers. She couldn't get a clear count of how many, but just glancing, it was larger than the company of Cross Knights by a considerable margin - a large mercenary troop, perhaps. Or a reinforced one.

"Everyone to their positions," Lachesis barked. "Keep quiet and stay off the wall until Team Novis initiates combat!" 

They'd drilled on this a couple of times now, and Sheena and Klein at least had been part of the initial plan. Team Novis, along with Lachesis, would huddle together in the crenellations atop the main wall, with Klein, Gordin, Sheena and Selena - all trained with bows - laying in wait behind arrow slits with access to the upper towers. The goal was for the attackers not to realize that resistance was waiting for them until they were too close to disengage - and then, at that range, their mages and archers could decimate the enemy. Thanks to the simple principle of a choke point, eight ranged attackers should in theory be enough to hold the gate against even a sizable offensive force. Their melee fighters were essentially failsafes. 

From around her stone cover, Lachesis watched as the unknown force approached them; she couldn't see Veronica or either of her field commanders, but she could see Emblian armor among their ranks in places, and that was good enough to know this was their enemy. Towards the back, she noticed that several figures had stopped and were watching from a distance. Tacticians, then? The opposing leadership? If that were so, and she was seeing the extent of their forces, then... by her hasty count, two hundred at most, and that was being generous. She almost scoffed. Was that all? 

...No, it... it couldn't be. It felt suspicious, even. 

"They have a ram," Mae whispered in horror, across from her. "Look!" Lachesis turned her attention to the front - sure enough, heavily armored Emblian infantry were hefting a huge stone-capped ram, already operating under the assumption that the gate would be locked. Between that and the apparent leadership staying back to observe, it was safe to assume she did not have the element of surprise, as she'd hoped. 

Even so... their front line had walked into range of the wall. And that meant that their siege tomes could decimate their ranks even several layers back, and it'd be hard to escape them now that they'd come so far forward. So far, so good. 

As the enemy funneled in towards the gate and prepared to break it open, Lachesis looked ahead to Mae and tapped the ground, getting her attention; behind the pink-haired mage Celica nodded, and Lachesis nodded to each of them in turn. Lachesis mouthed: "One, two, three -- " 

And the four of them stood all at once, arms outstretched and tomes flipping open in their off-hands - a wave of synchronized Meteor spells crashed into the enemy mid-line, and chaos erupted immediately. That was the signal. The archers began to fire, thinning the attackers crowded around the gateway arch. Their enemies reacted swiftly, lines of their own bowmen forming up and firing volleys, but their targets were well-protected from the ground. You'd need air support. And something that Lachesis had found surprisingly lacking in the enemy forces was: _fliers._

Mages came next, and that was the more severe problem. Powerful fire and lightning spells could blast away fortifications, and wind spells could topple defenders from precarious footing. The archers came up onto their respective towers - one good fire spell could detonate the inside of a tower and kill anyone inside it, but if you were on top there were fewer things to hit around you. Lachesis switched to staff-wielding, and with Genny's help maintained a protective barrier around their spellcasters. This was all very much according to plan. 

So much so that it made Lachesis nervous. 

She kept glancing up at the attacker's leadership in the back. They were in hurried conversation. At one point one of them left, dashing out of Lachesis' sight. But aside from that she wasn't sure what to expect from them. What were they doing? They seemed to expect a fight, yet brought no fliers to challenge the height of a castle wall? No siege weapons except a hand-operated ram? She had to be missing something, somehow. Gnawing anxiety grew in her chest. But she couldn't afford to lose focus over it - if anyone died...

...She'd... 

...S-She'd have one less defender, and when she already had so few... every life counted. She couldn't afford losses. That's why her job was so important. But still, it felt irresponsible to assume that this was all they were going to have thrown at them... 

And yet, that was the way it was, for well over an hour - they burned through their immediate supply of Meteor tomes and switched to Blizzards, their Barrier staves began to lose their luster, signaling the end of their usefulness... The enemy had sustained considerable losses, and though they still had most of standing fighters to work with, they had no progress to show for it. No progress, until all at once, Lachesis saw what it was she'd missed before.

 

Effie had a lonely job. During the siege, she - the physically strongest of them, not to mention the one without any training in ranged fighting - was to hold the side door.

All castles had 'em. You can't expect everybody to always get in from the front, or more often, to get _out_ that way. You have to have some other option. And that other option was a vulnerability during an attack, so Effie's job was to patch it up. 

It sounded awfully exciting at the front gate, but for a long time, Effie just paced back and forth, idly swinging her lance to and fro, waiting for something to happen. So when she finally heard hoofbeats drawing near her she actually felt some amount of relief at the sound. Something to do. ...Even if it registered afterward that this probably wouldn't be any fun. 

She assumed her guardian stance at the door, shield raised and lance poised; a number of cavaliers rode into a fanning formation in front of her, but... they didn't advance. At their front was a tall scarlet-haired woman with a great poleax, and being honest Effie couldn't really stand to hold her gaze for too long, but she could tell at just a glance that that woman was the commander of this unit. So Effie would have to put a lance through her. She was good at getting used to that feeling, as awful as it was. 

But they didn't charge her. They stayed right where they were. The only one to approach Effie was a solitary swordswoman that took a bit more time to catch up. She sighed happily when she saw Effie, slowly drawing a curved sword and whirling it between her hands. "You look tough," the girl chirped. "Let's have a good fight, okay?" 

Effie wasn't really sure what to say. "You're not getting past me," she said slowly, because it was true, and it was the only thing on her mind just then. 

"Maybe not." The girl grinned. "Maybe so. Prove it!"

She lunged - she was _way_ too fast! Effie had only ever fought against opponents anywhere near this blazing fast in practice, never for their lives - but there are certain things you can do to mitigate your opponent's speed, especially when you've got armor. A big shield stops attacks no matter how many of them there are, as long as you're careful about where you put it. But for all of Effie's training, this girl was clearly just as keen, and knew how to kite Effie's shield and to dart into her blind spots just as Effie was having to adjust her momentum and her center of gravity; it was a miracle on Effie's part she didn't take many hits, but she absolutely couldn't contain the swordmaster, or stop her from worming behind Effie - putting herself between the side door and its defender. And like that, she began to push Effie backwards, away from the castle!

"Now, Titania!" the girl grunted, pushing her full weight against Effie's shield. Effie, panic coming on, braced into her shield and shoulder charged forward - but the swordmaster just darted away with a yelp of surprise and left Effie stumbling towards the door, and when she turned around the red-haired woman and her horse were bearing down on her already. Without the time to raise her lance in defense, Effie had to stagger aside to avoid being trampled, and with one mighty blow from her horse's front hooves the knight smashed the door from its hinges and surged past her. The other knights were already behind her. The door was open and the enemy was already inside. 

 

Camilla and Beruka had hurried from their watch posts to try to help Effie, but they were too late to stop the knights from entering, and they only narrowly reached Lachesis in time to warn her - cavalry flooded into the front courtyard as the wyvern riders dropped to the ground to oppose them, but they were badly outnumbered, and a melee in an open space like this was far from in their favor. 

"Close range spells!" Lachesis ordered. "Clear out the intruders first!" She sprinted from the walls, all but throwing her Barrier staff aside - hastily tapping the other staff she kept attached to her belt, Mend, just to ensure it was there - then drawing Miracle from its sheath and leaping directly into the fray. Thunderbolts scorched around her, cutting winds lacerated horses and riders alike. The situation was under control, but only barely. 

Only barely.

Camilla was locked in combat with the enemy commander; theirs was a hurried, almost frantic dance, as Camilla alternated swiftly between strikes from the air and low dives, but the knight commander was calm and composed as she deftly outmanuevered Camilla's attacks and responded with swift rebuttals that forced Camilla to a defensive. Camilla's style by comparison was desperate. Lachesis - and by the looks of things, Beruka and Abel, as well - were desperate to reach her side and assist her... but if they did, someone would storm the wall, and the mages would be in danger. That would be defeat. 

Selena and Sheena rushed outside to help, too. Effie managed to find her way to them through the chaos. From the two wyvern knights, they held on long enough to reform with their backs to the _inside_ of their own gate, their own unit of seven defenders. But in doing this, they'd exposed the _outside_ of the gate. Their pressure had subsided, and moments too late Lachesis realized that the enemy could now bash down their fortifications with impunity; moments late, she turned to frantically order their mages to refocus on the outside - but with an explosion of thick timber shattering, the door burst open, and Lachesis was staring down some dozens of infantrymen outside the wall that could now easily reach inside the castle. 

She swore under her breath, and sprinted outside. She didn't even think about it. It wasn't by much, but she'd faced worse odds before.

It was very unlucky for her that someone else, separately but simultaneously, chose to make a selfless, insane sacrifice of their own as well. 

 

Lachesis raised her sword for her first strike, hoping to catch the enemy off guard as they were making their own advance, but as her blade made contact with armor the world around her flashed brilliant white and red - a shockwave hit her and she was deafened immediately, and in the void silence the night grew choking black, stars invisible, trees invisible, the gate behind her invisible, everything lost in roiling smoke. She whirled around, eyes growing wide, bewildered; she was alone and at her feet was a growing flame that she staggered back from with a cry of terror, her heart pounding, she'd seen this before, she'd seen this before, how could - 

There behind her. Hovering a foot or two from the ground, slowly descending atop a cushion of some unknown, irrelevant wind magic. Red hair flared, arms outstretched, fire in his palms. Arvis. 

Another shockwave, behind her - she screamed and whirled around again to try to defend herself from it but a plume of towering fire and smoke was all that was left, and now there was another, and another afterward, a circle of fire rising into the night, the soldiers around her were panicking, their companions were burning, screaming armor enveloped in flame crying out to the strangled heavens - 

No - it - it couldn't be, he - was he - ? She turned back to him - _there was no way he was here, not THERE, and not now, not like this -_ It didn't make any sense, clawing back her reason; she was coughing in the smoke and dropped to her knees to escape it, clutching her head as a searing pain thundered through it, back and forth and back again, tears drying on her cheeks before they had the chance to fall. But it _couldn't be Arvis._ This was - this was wrong. She knew it was wrong, she knew something was off - she looked up again, blurred eyes focusing desperately on the figure enveloped in fire and smoke between her and the gate -- 

Someone had rushed out to their side - someone on a horse, a gleaming sword flashing in the light, fire licking at their mount - Sigurd - she screamed at him to escape, they weren't about to win this, she knew that much but he didn't seem to hear her - who else was - what was happening? What was she - why was she seeing this? Behind him - an arm wrapped in fire but a sword in her other hand, battling against someone that had dared to approach her - but with Valflame all around she wouldn't last - Ayra. No. It couldn't - 

_you can stop this. you can stop this, this time. you can save them._

Lachesis swallowed, clearing her dry throat, trying again to shout: "RUN! GET OUT OF HERE!" Sigurd hesitated, distraught, confused; an arrow flew his way and he dodged it, raising his own bow in response _(Sigurd has a bow? Since when has Sigurd known how to use - )_ but Lachesis didn't wait for him because Ayra was vulnerable, Ayra was burning - she sprinted over to her as Ayra gestured in Lachesis' direction, brandishing the fire coiled around her blade as though channeling it herself, but her expression was one of suffering and fear and Lachesis had to reach her before the damage was too much - she dropped her sword and nearly ripped her belt off to reach her Mend staff, funneling its energy to her, and Ayra stared at her in confusion as if she hadn't expected Lachesis to be here _(in the firelight her hair glowed bright orange and crimson, everything was blasted with baleful red light, even her eyes gleamed red)_ \- 

"STOP!" Ayra (???) screamed, thrashing and staggering back; Lachesis cried out in despair, reaching out for her now-extinguished arm, blood was on Ayra's cheeks and angry black marks streaked her arms - "Stop!" Ayra shouted again, her voice cracking, her legs were giving out under her. "This is what has to happen - why are you stopping me - ?"

"No," Lachesis sobbed, "I won't let it, I can't - not again, not now! I can't let you go, please, you _must_ stay with me - " 

She tried to drag Ayra (???) back towards the castle courtyard, where she knew others were, but - someone on a horse, maybe Lex - no, not with red hair like that, but then - before Lachesis could track more the cavalier was pursued by a great wyvern and a powerful blow with a greataxe toppled the redhead to the ground - 

Camilla? 

She turned back to the courtyard; her head was spinning, and she couldn't tell who she was seeing anymore, her vision blurred and obscured by smoke and tears; behind her Ayra had slumped to the ground and Lachesis dropped down beside her, frantically checking her vitals, but she was breathing and seemingly just unconscious, and... the fighting around them had stopped, the fire outside seemed to be fading in favor of a thick curtain of smoke... 

It couldn't be that they were safe...? 

Someone was shouting her name, but she couldn't make out where the voice was coming from. She tried to call to them, but her voice wouldn't come. She fell to her knees first, trying to steady herself on Ayra's shoulders, but it wasn't enough. She blacked out before she hit the ground.


	4. Chapter 4

Consciousness returned to Lachesis very sluggishly. She could barely move, so her awareness was limited to her immediate sight range: she knew she was laying down in a bed, the air was cold and the blankets covering her were thin; she could see through a window the moon high in a midnight sky. That gave her a basic understanding of her surroundings, if nothing else. 

"I think that's as much as I can do," someone said. She had a distinctive voice - faint and gentle and sweet, like well-sugared tea. Genny. One of Celica's friends. 

Celica? Where... was she? Somehow that name - she knew it well, she knew the face and woman it belonged to, but it felt like it should belong to someone many leagues away, someone... someone from some kind of dream. But as she turned her head to watch Genny stand from the bedside next to her, taking in the other two figures standing there - Mae and Boey, side by side across from Genny, eyes downcast, Mae's cheeks streaked - she began to wonder if she were falling into a dream, or... waking from one, instead.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Mae weakly asked. 

"She's breathing just fine," Genny offered, clearly eager to console her. "We've healed her from worse..."

"She'll be as fine as she can be," Boey said softly, wrapping an arm around Mae's shoulders; Mae turned into his embrace, sighing shakily. "We've done our part, Mae."

"I can't believe she really did that," Mae whimpered. "If Lachesis hadn't stopped her... she would have burned herself up, wouldn't she...?"

Neither of them seemed to have an answer for her. Lachesis reeled. What were they talking about? Her memory was fragmented, brief flashes of things she'd seen that stood out but without chronology or context to connect them. She remembered seeing Arvis, she remembered seeing Sigurd and Ayra... 

...No, she... she must have hallucinated. With a dull, exhausted resignation, she tried to reframe those shards of memories around this understanding. It must have been some kind of flashback. She remembered the lead up to the battle, she remembered their opening volley and their initial successful defense, the surprise flank and the battle in the courtyard...

...And then... blackness. Was she to believe, then, that when she'd seen Ayra... that was actually Celica? But then where had the fire come from... That couldn't have been Celica, too, could it?

"I know you're supposed to be ready for this kind of thing, when you learn magic," Mae whispered, "but... I never expected to really see it happen, you know?"

"To be honest," Boey murmured, "I didn't even think it was possible. I figured you'd just... run out of strength, and pass out, or something like that. But Celica..."

"I've never seen someone cast so many spells their skin turns black," Genny whispered, horrified. "Like a necrotic plague... I'm so happy that we were able to heal most of it, but even so..."

"Celica was doing it on purpose," Mae breathed, in horror. "Wasn't she? You saw it, didn't you? That wasn't normal. I know Ragnarok hurts her a lot, but - but she was... she was totally ready to just keep blasting it out until..." She sniffled, and shook her head. "I can't... believe it..." 

She trailed off, sobbing quietly, while Boey wrapped his arms around her protectively. Lachesis could scarcely believe what she'd heard. If it was all true, though, then... then...?

"We should give them space," Genny whispered. "I promise, I'll be here with them all night, okay? I won't let anything bad happen to her." 

Mae nodded, still hiding in Boey's shoulder. Boey sighed, shaking his head slowly. "If nothing else," he muttered, "at least she scared the enemy into retreating. So... we kinda get our cake and eat it too, this time." 

"You idiot," Mae hissed, punching his shoulder without looking up. "Don't - don't make fun of this, or whatever! This is serious..." Boey sighed, leading her away from the bed and towards the door, and Genny followed a bit behind them; Lachesis couldn't turn her head to watch them, and without something to look at, lost consciousness again moments later. 

 

_May 23_

 

When next she woke, the first rays of sunlight were lancing through the window instead; the room was dusty and quiet, and Lachesis had the strength and will to move, albeit slowly and stiffly. 

Genny was asleep in her chair at the infirmary door. With a pang of sympathy Lachesis wondered how long the poor girl had managed to stay awake - was she hungry? Had anyone been to visit her since Lachesis' brief moment of wakefulness? Bedside vigils had a tendency to be very lonely... 

But, more interesting than that: to her side, Celica was sitting up, eyes cast out the window.

She turned when Lachesis pushed herself upright, showing a soft, sincere smile; Lachesis wanted to smile back, but something in her trembled, and her cheeks wouldn't move. "Good morning," Celica whispered. She didn't want to wake Genny up, it seemed. 

Lachesis inclined her head, not sure what to say. It took her several tries to form even her most basic response - her lips cracked and throat dry, every movement of her mouth sluggish and clumsy. "Good morning," she mouthed back. 

"I'm glad to see that you're well," Celica continued kindly. "It would have been terrible if you'd gotten hurt on my account." 

"You as well," Lachesis replied voicelessly. She recalled distantly that Genny had said something about black skin - but looking over Celica, her arms and neck at least, she didn't see any such marks.

They hesitated. Lachesis had a thousand questions, but she couldn't figure out what they were. Much of her uncertainty revolved around Celica, around Celica's soft smile and warm eyes, because the visage of Arvis-maybe-Celica casting, of Ayra-maybe-Celica channeling fire through her sword in scorched agony, was still burned deep into her memory. Who _was_ Celica? Was it Celica that made Lachesis feel like the room was about to crumble beneath her? Or was that feeling hers alone? 

"Thank you for saving me," Celica said faintly, her smile fading. 

Lachesis could not take that lying down. She swallowed painfully and took a slow, deep breath, her heart fluttering with anxiety. "What happened?"

"Ah." Celica's lips curled bitterly this time, and she evaded Lachesis' gaze. "I-I... got carried away. Valentian magic uses one's own life force as a catalyst... I guess I, um... panicked... I would have overexerted myself had you not intervened." 

There was much about this still left the imagination, but somehow this small concession was enough to help assemble the remainder of Lachesis' understanding: they'd been flanked, somehow the enemy had gotten in through the side door, in the chaos the gate had been destroyed, and Lachesis had gone out to face the enemy - and Celica... 

"Did you... jump off the wall?" Lachesis narrowed her eyes, in awe and shock. "How did you end up..."

"Yes, I did," Celica said softly, even that weathered smile fading away now, too. The warmth in Celica's aura was dying, and Lachesis with relief realized she had simply been deceived by a mask. This expression... this was more familiar. This, she knew. "Lachesis... if you please," she sighed, "I... do not wish to speak of what happened in detail."

For a moment, Lachesis intended to press her further. Not much further, mind you - but to ask perhaps the most damning question up-front. What exactly did Celica intend, when she jumped from the wall? But to be honest, she knew the answer. She knew the answer in Mae's tearful regret and she could read it in Celica's eyes. 

She didn't know what to say. 

"Ah - " All at once something came to her, something tangential but she latched on nonetheless. "Thank you for standing up for me last night," Lachesis offered. "Just before the attack..." 

"I'm very familiar with not wanting to talk about my feelings," Celica said softly, glancing up at her with an ephemeral smile. "You are welcome, miss Lachesis."

That felt unsatisfying, somehow. Lachesis withered a little, and Celica seemed to fade back a bit, too, watching her. Something hung in the air between them, but they couldn't seem to grasp it. They could see each other though it, but only dimly, as though through stained glass, too far apart to touch. 

The door to the infirmary opened - their attention focused forward as Mae cautiously let herself in, gasping with sincere shock when she realized Celica was awake, "O-Oh, Lady Celica," she stammered, smiling far too brightly and far too nervously; even without looking Lachesis could feel Celica wincing. "I'm so glad you're awake," the mage gasped, rushing over to her. "Are you okay?"

"I am," Celica softly replied. "Thanks to you and Genny, and to Lachesis, as well."

"R-right." Mae turned to face Lachesis, and Lachesis straightened, awaiting her gratitude, as a princess does. "Lady Lachesis," Mae said, "thank you so much for protecting Celica. I don't know what I would do if she'd... if we'd lost her, and..."

"You don't have to thank me," Lachesis said calmly, "but I understand. I'm glad she's safe, too."

"Yeah." Mae sighed heavily. "Yeah... um, Celica..." She glanced back towards Genny, who was stirring now, blinking up at the three of them dazedly. The day was beginning, and the moment of quiet with Celica was over. For now, at least. 

 

Genny gave Lachesis another examination and decided she was fit to walk, but not to exert herself. No training or physical labor, the tiny cleric insisted, until at least another full day had passed and Genny had had a chance to examine her again. Lachesis had no intention of obeying her. She knew her own body and was very experienced as a healer herself. She knew what she was doing. But unfortunately, word of the doctor's orders spread rapidly through the castle and any time Lachesis meant to involve herself, someone nearby would stop her. 

So Lachesis instead had to busy herself with planning. She patrolled the castle grounds, examining the state of their defenses - in shambles, to put it simply. The gate had been crushed; the ram alone hadn't been enough, but the portcullis had been weakened by fire spells such that the ram could bash through it. It was as Lachesis feared; someone more experienced in siege warfare than her would easily crack this place open, even if she was able to repair it before another attack came. 

The side door, at least, was easily repaired - just a new set of hinges and a new door, but no damage to the surrounding chamber - and the exterior walls were battered and cratered by fire magic, but held strong. But Lachesis understood now that she was vulnerable. Askr was vulnerable. This castle was not sufficient. 

"That wasn't an earnest attack," Klein agreed, when she consulted him about it. "Not enough troops, and certainly too poorly prepared. Either they expected no resistance, or a token one. But if Veronica wants to break through here, she absolutely will."

"We must stop her," Lachesis said quietly. "We cannot allow her to." 

"We can delay her," Klein hummed, "but this place won't last a concentrated siege. Not without at least triple our current numbers, and probably much more than that." 

"We don't have numbers," Lachesis sighed. Klein nodded faintly, turning back to her. "Just the thirteen of us," she continued. "How can we thirteen stop a siege?"

"We can't," Klein murmured, stroking his chin. "But as far as stalling one out... there are a few things missing. We could place ballistae on the outer towers, that would make a difference."

And she sought out Sheena, as well. "This castle is purely for defense," Sheena sighed, turning around slowly to examine the frontal courtyard. "We may have to scar it to make it more defensible still, given our circumstances."

"Scar it?" Lachesis said blankly. Sheena nodded, and pointed to the dirt beneath them, drawing staggered lines.

"Trenches," she explained. "We can use concealed pitfalls to slow the enemy advance, and possibly cripple their horses, if they're so brazen as to ride within the castle walls like last time. We have to be prepared to defend this courtyard, not just the outer gate. So additional cover, on the outer perimeter for our archers and mages..." She pointed again, to the stairs leading to the wall on either side. "And to be honest," Sheena added wearily, "I suggest we destroy the side passage entirely. We have our own way out."

"I think you're right," Lachesis agreed, sighing. "If we cannot defend the castle and we cannot reach the world gate, we've lost already."

"Aye," Sheena murmured. "This whole land is hostile. There's nowhere else to escape to." 

She tried to search for Celica, too, but Celica had made herself hard to find; first she found Mae and Boey practicing on one of the keep's upper balconies, and waited apart from them so they could finish casting before she approached. 

"Ah, hey, miss Lachesis." Mae was a bit too eager still. Some part of Lachesis appreciated it, somewhere in the emptiness. "Can I help you?"

"Good to see you back on your feet," Boey agreed with a warm smile of his own. It felt out of place on him, too, though somewhat less so.

"I'm looking for Celica," Lachesis said quietly. Understandably, both their expressions darkened. 

"What for?" Mae said defensively. Boey sighed, but Lachesis raised her hand to quiet him.

"I wish to ask her for some advice," she continued, "and to see how she's doing. If she's indisposed, that is fine."

Mae sighed, folding her arms. "Celica's in the library," she said slowly. "She spends a lot of time there. So if you can't find her, that's probably where she is." 

"Thank you." Lachesis bowed, and took her leave.

The library was on the keep's second floor, and was kept mostly dark. Lachesis had been rather surprised to see it when they'd first toured the castle; the placement and condition of the fort suggested that it was almost entirely a defensive fortification, rather than someone's home - somewhere for the village to evacuate to in the event of emergency, perhaps - but the furnishings inside the castle were inconsistent. There were very clearly bedrooms, a solar higher up with living spaces for a ruling lord of some kind... just, aged and barren, clearly unused for years, perhaps decades. But the library of all things was still largely well-stocked. 

Celica was sitting beside a table near a window; beside her, stacked high, were discarded magical tomes that they'd found unusable or otherwise didn't need, as well as a good few other books Lachesis didn't recognize; Celica was huddled underneath their shadow, legs curled up to her chest and a book propped over her knees, reading. Lachesis watched her for several moments, and she didn't seem to notice Lachesis' presence. She looked tired, rather than captivated. 

When she did step forward, Celica jumped and bolted upright, bumping into the table and knocking over a pile of books beside her in the process; Celica winced, dropping back to her knees again, but Lachesis had already lunged down to help her clean them up. They re-assembled the stack, and Celica lifted it back into its place on the table, more delicately this time. Lachesis, however, carefully picked up the book at the top of the pile, inspecting it curiously, her eyes tracing its title. "'Fire Emblem Historia'...?"

"Yes," Celica said faintly. "I've been reading about the gods of this world. They say that the goddess of light, Ashera, gives guidance to the imperial family of a land named Begnion, and that she sealed away her opposite in a medallion that is now called the Fire Emblem. It's said that if conflict and bloodshed spread across the land, then the dark god will awaken..."

"Interesting," Lachesis hummed, setting the book down again. Was that why Kiran had been so hesitant to commit to a large-scale assault here? Fear of this 'dark god'? Perhaps it was connected to the black-armored knight that she had mentioned before. 

"Some people believe it's just a fairy tale," Celica added, a bit mournfully. "I wonder about it, though."

Lachesis hummed noncommittally again, and turned her attention to Celica, who seemed hesitant to return her gaze. "How are you feeling?" she asked, in what she hoped was a conversational voice. 

"I'm... fine," Celica said slowly. "I just... got distracted, was all. I'm sorry, ma'am."

"There's no need to apologize," Lachesis said calmly. "You and I both have been ordered to rest, and this seems to be a very restful activity to me." Celica nodded rather solemnly, drawing herself back up again. Lachesis thought she might have meant to speak, so she hesitated. They were both quiet for a moment. 

Celica cleared her throat. "How, um... how has your rest been?"

"It's been alright," Lachesis lied, too taken aback to process the question completely. Why lie? Was there a purpose to it? "The others have all but prohibited me from doing any work," she added more irritably, "and one has little choice but to rest in such a circumstance. But that has not stopped me from being productive."

"Ah, I see." Celica smiled faintly. "Is there anything I can do for you?" 

"We only narrowly survived last night's attack," Lachesis sighed, folding her arms. "And our enemies scarcely committed a full offensive force to us. If we intend to hold the line against Embla and Crimea, we'll need to be much more prepared. How would you improve our odds of a successful defense?" 

"I'm no military advisor," Celica said softly, frowning. 

"Perhaps not," Lachesis agreed, "but your teammates trust you, and you plainly are no stranger to battle. I would have what advice you could offer."

Celica sighed wearily, closing her eyes and crossing her arms, her fingers drumming along her forearm for a moment. "I'm sure you've thought of the simple things," she murmured. "Barricades, maybe trenches in the courtyard. More cover for us mages as we fall back." She glanced up again. "More advanced supportive magic may be beneficial," she added. "Have you asked Genny about her abilities? She is able to do some very impressive things, if she's given the room."

"I will be sure to seek her out," Lachesis agreed. "Perhaps I could do more, if we could find stronger staves, as well."

"I'm sure I can use them too." Celica smiled briefly. It looked more like an obligation than a show of emotion. "I hesitate to say so, but you may want to consider more... drastic measures, as well..."

Lachesis arched an eyebrow. "I'm listening." 

"Some places I've been," Celica said quietly, "employed traps and magical defenses to ensure that if, say, a part of a castle is taken, enemies cannot use them to reach you. Destroying your own fortress as you retreat, essentially. Spilling tar or oil in the gateway and igniting it, laying wire in corridors and casting Thunder on it..."

"That certainly would be effective," Lachesis breathed, rather taken aback. "One would prefer not to resort to such tactics, but given our disadvantages... if a truly determined siege were to come for us..."

"I would think that we will need all the help we can get to survive," Celica finished grimly. Lachesis nodded in agreement. "Is that suitable advice, milady?"

Again, Lachesis nodded, crossing her arms, resting her hand on her chin for a moment. "I'll give some thought to it," she murmured. "Well... I will allow you to return to reading, if there's nothing you need from me." 

 

Celica hesitated. Lachesis did, too, waiting patiently. Celica took a deep breath, shrinking back towards the bookshelf a little.

"I wanted to thank you again," she said softly. 

"You don't need to," Lachesis replied. But Celica shook her head. 

"You saved my life," Celica whispered. "We were strangers. I was an inconvenience to you, even. I know it may sound pathetic of me, but... I can't help but feel ashamed of myself, that I..." She hugged herself and looked away, smiling bitterly. "I don't know what I was thinking," she sighed. "But this morning, I was struck by how many people would endanger themselves for my safety.... even strangers. How foolish am I, to throw away that care and caution?"

Lachesis bit her lip, not sure what to say. Celica glanced nervously up at her, tucking hair behind her ear. "One only acted as any responsible leader ought to," Lachesis said stiffly. "The safety of my companions is important to me."

"Yes, of course," Celica said softly. "You don't need to explain yourself. It's natural for us to wish to protect the lives of others, isn't it?"

"Yes," Lachesis said slowly, frowning. "It... of course it is."

"That's all it takes for me to remember that I have value," Celica continued.

"Of course you have value," Lachesis stammered, entirely taken aback. "I - I apologize, but - "

"No, no, it's fine," Celica laughed. "That was melodramatic of me, I suppose. I'm sorry, I just..." She shrunk away further, lowering her head so that one of her curls osbcured her eyes. "Never mind," she whispered. "I'm sorry to have troubled you with it. Just... know that I appreciate what you did."

"I appreciate you, as well," Lachesis said slowly, frowning. "I..." What did she say? What does one say to that? What was Celica implying? Or... did she mean to be implying anything? "I'll let you get back to your studies," she finished lamely, nodding, hopeful that would come across more in control. It felt kind of stilted to her ears, but Celica just nodded without moving, still watching the table. 

Lachesis hesitated. Celica was breathing fast, and her lips were taut and narrow. It wasn't a reassuring expression, particularly without being able to see her eyes. Nevertheless, she'd given her salutation, so she turned to leave, and -

"Please take it easy on Mae," Celica whispered.

And there it was. Lachesis sighed heavily and turned back to face her. Celica hadn't moved. "She's given her apology," Lachesis stiffly replied. "If it doesn't happen again, we won't have a problem."

Celica shook her head weakly. "She's afraid for me," she said softly. "She and Boey both are, and it makes them defensive. If they cause any trouble because of that, it's my fault. Don't hold it over them, please."

"Very well," Lachesis conceded. "As leader of Team Novis, if they act up again, I'll hold you responsible."

Celica's lips curled upward faintly. "Thank you, ma'am."


	5. Chapter 5

_May 27_

 

Not two ballistae, but four. Lachesis was considering two more. The more she paced the front courtyard, the more she traced the outer walls, the more of the topographical map she'd asked for got filled in by Camilla's retainers, the more she became afraid. Two wasn't enough. Four wasn't enough. Six wouldn't be, either. Thirteen people was not enough. 

A bit more than a hundred infantry, and a small detachment of cavalry, had walked directly at the fortress, stood at the gate, lifted a ram, and with such terrible foresight and such small numbers and still nearly destroyed the lot of them. What amounted to an overeager scouting party had almost broken through to Askr. 

Lachesis had already asked Kagero, Kiran's messenger, for reinforcements. She asked every day, in fact, since the attack. Today, Kagero's response was chilling her. "We don't have any to spare," she'd stiffly replied, clearly uncomfortable to relay the bad news. "Kiran's been desperate to figure it out logistically, but I'm telling you right now to give up on it. Valentia is consuming all of our resources. We're too understaffed to fight on two fronts as it is."

She had to hold this fortress. She had to hold Crimea. 

Effie rolled a gigantic boulder against the side door from the outside; Lachesis, paranoid, ordered her to find a second. She'd work it over with a Fire tome later to ensure that it couldn't be climbed up to the wall. They trapped and trenched the main courtyard, as well as laying down wire across several parts of the castle that could then be electrified in an emergency. Vats of hot oil lined the frontal wall and the area just inside the gate, which they'd rebuilt as best they could, and they were still working on the portcullis to go in front of it. Lachesis was considering trying to magically dig out a trench around the castle, too. Could she do that with four mages? 

Embla could come back at any moment with a thousand spears, cloud the sky with pegasi and wyverns, shatter the wall with Meteors or choke their visibility with Eclipse, claw their way up the wall with ladders, bash down the gate with magic or an armored ram... 

What was she going to do? 

"Lachesis," Klein said, sternly. Lachesis nodded absently. "Ma'am?"

"Lost in thought," she said curtly, "where were we?" 

"I was just saying that we don't have the materials to construct any more ballistae," Klein sighed. "Additionally, I don't think there's anywhere that we can place them that will have proper lines of sight if we're forced to retreat to them."

"Ah." Lachesis tensed. She meant to fold her arms but they were already folded. "That's... then..."

"We can potentially force the enemy to take a long path through the keep if they're able to break inside," Klein continued. "But that's assuming they can't break through the walls or doors to circumvent us. The castle's interior is in poor repair. We may be best served just defending the courtyard, and if they reach the keep we immediately retreat to Askr." 

"You may be right," Lachesis sighed, closing her eyes. "But..."

But if they retreat to Askr, Embla wins, Embla claims Crimea, Embla claims Tellius. Celica had continued to read about the mythos and the recent history of the continent and the tales she told were far from reassuring. The Black Knight alone was a terrifying figure, but this world was _full_ of them. An incredibly talented mercenary troop with world-famous prowess in combat and tactical genius. A deified maiden with silver hair, the gift of future sight, and incredible talent with light magic. The Apostle of Begnion, wielding shockingly powerful fire magic, surrounded by a flight of holy guards, seraph knights of great prestige. Huge kingdoms of _laguz_ , about which Lachesis knew very little, but the stories made them out to be savage and terrifying warriors, not to mention _DRAGONS_. Embla couldn't be allowed to have this place. Kiran had misunderstood Lachesis' mission - to give away Tellius was not a setback, it was total catastrophe. 

There were only thirteen of them. Thirteen people. 

_"Twenty of us," Ayra deadpanned, "against the entire Grannvale army, the garrison in Phinora, and whoever the hell is waiting for us in Velthomer. Twenty of us, Sigurd."_

_"I don't have a choice," Sigurd said. His voice was quiet and stiff. He seemed to sense something on the horizon. It chilled Lachesis to the bone, and yet it honed her resolve to a dangerous edge. "I can't run forever, and I certainly can't ask everyone else to run with me. I have to return home. I have to end this."_

_Ayra hesitated, and turned to Lachesis. Lachesis was struck with appreciation, awe almost, that she would do that. Ayra was always so self-assured, always so completely confident. And now, Lachesis thought, she didn't look uncertain. She looked... worried. Worried for her. That she would hesitate for Lachesis' sake..._

_"I'm going," Lachesis said fiercely. "For Sigurd and for you, Ayra."_

_"I'm not turning tail and running," Ayra agreed, with a heavy, relieved sigh. She turned back to Sigurd, a familiar fire in her eyes. "You and I can't go home until this is finished. I've been with you this far, Sigurd, and you've been more than an honorable companion to me. Isaachians repay their debts. And I'm not finished repaying mine."_

_"There are only twenty of us," Sigurd said softly._

_"That's enough to raise hell," Lachesis snapped. "That's enough to make them regret what they've done to us." Sigurd laughed bitterly._

_"I'm not in this for the sake of bloodshed," he said, "but princess, you may just be right."_

"Lachesis?"

Lachesis almost snarled at herself. "Sorry," she snapped. "Sorry - again, _again._ " She looked up, but her vision was blurry and she swiftly hid her face. How dare - how dare that memory resurface. How dare her tears return. She was supposed to have run out years ago! 

"Lachesis," Klein gasped, his voice grave and sincere. "Please don't misunderstand me. I'm a practical man. I believe that we can hold this castle, and I believe that because of what I've seen the last few days." As he spoke, Lachesis took a long, deep breath, and sighed it back out shakily. "I don't want to plan for a worst case that won't help us," he continued. "If they reach the door, there's little more we can do. But we can stop them from reaching the door. I'm sure of it." 

"Okay," Lachesis sighed, resting a hand over her forehead, as though to shield her from the light. "For a moment there, you were sounding dangerously close to insubordinance." 

Klein laughed. "Betweeen your tenacity," he huffed, "Team Novis' passion, Lady Camilla's confidence, Sheena and Effie's determination... I have no doubt we can stop Embla here. So trust in me, Lady Lachesis. For Askr and for all other worlds, I won't let us fail here." 

Lachesis glanced up and smiled faintly at him. Her eyes stung with barely restrained tears. Her heart hurt so bad she couldn't speak. She had to hope her smile was good enough.

 

She continued her rounds. Lady Camilla, with her doting cheer and overly warm smile, was happy to report that her retainers' mapping efforts were going well. She asked about Lachesis' health, and Lachesis answered rotely that she was feeling well, and Camilla asked her again. Rather surprised, Lachesis said again, "I'm doing fine."

"Now, I'm going to ask you a third time," Camilla said kindly.

"And I'm going to say the same thing," Lachesis interrupted, shaking her head bewildered.

"Lady Lachesis, are you sure you're feeling well today?"

Lachesis shivered. Why - ? What was it about that? Was it something about her eyes, something about the smile fading away and the faint frown tugging at Camilla's lips, something about the gentle gravity of her voice that hadn't been there before? 

"I-I'm alright," Lachesis stammered. Camilla tutted. 

"We're all relying on you," she said softly. "You're our commander. We look to you for guidance. You must take care of yourself."

Lachesis again couldn't speak. She turned her head away. Her eyes were stinging again. Why?! Why now?! 

"If I can help you at all," Camilla repeated, "please don't hesitate to find me. I'll have you know I'm well known for my hugs." 

"I'm sure you are," Lachesis tried to growl. It didn't come out quite that tough. 

"That concludes my status update for today," Camilla finished calmly. "Will you need anything more from me, Lady Lachesis?" 

Lachesis drew herself up, turning back to face her. "Keep up the good work," she said firmly. "Thank you again, Camilla." 

Camilla smiled at her. Lachesis' heart screamed. 

 

Sheena somehow managed to look just as huge and imposing without her armor. She and Effie had made incredible progress for being the only two women digging trenches, and now Sheena was alone taking a break by Lachesis' order, so she wouldn't hurt her arms. She didn't wear royal clothes, just a tunic and pants like a traveler, but she was built so large that it didn't affect her image at all, and Lachesis wouldn't have dared assume mediocrity from her. 

"Lady Lachesis," she sighed, as Lachesis approached her. "What can I do for you?" 

"I wish to ensure you are comfortable," Lachesis said softly. "That's all." 

"I am." Sheena smiled bitterly. "As much as I can be given the task ahead of us, that is. But thank you." 

"Speak honestly," Lachesis intoned. "Do you believe that we will succeed?"

Sheena sighed again, and pushed herself up with a grunt. "Lady Lachesis," she boomed, "let me briefly tell you a story. You were selected by our glorious tactician for your experience in warfare within and against fortifications. Do you think you're alone with such experience?"

"Not for a second," Lachesis said softly. Sheena nodded, clasping her hands behind her back and beginning to pace, her chestnut hair flowing out behind her as she walked. 

"I was a princess of a kingdom named Gra," Sheena explained. "But I had no desire to be its leader. My father was a fool who pursued only power, and made himself the servant of one even more terrible than he. I saw no hope for my people, and as a helpless little girl, fled that hopelessness. But when my father died, his master found me and dragged me back. Gra and her troops needed a leader, and I was the heir.

"My people didn't understand what was happening. They understood only that they were at war, they were losing, and their princess had returned to lead them. They devoted themselves to me. They were fanatics. They threw themselves in droves at our enemy."

Lachesis swallowed. Her dry throat ached. Her lips were trembling. Why again...?

"Our enemy," Sheena sighed wearily, raising her eyebrows, "was the kingdom of Altea - of which we were once part, and which we believed wanted to destroy us. Its prince led a crusade against the continent in desperation to free it from the emperor's tyranny, and we were merely an obstacle in his way - but we didn't know that. He crushed us, Lady Lachesis. Gra posed no opposition to him whatsoever. My people fell before him and his elite guard without so much as a scratch. They were terrified, and by the time he reached us, broken."

She turned back to Lachesis, smiling bitterly. "And yet," she whispered, "I stood in the prince's path. Even with those once loyal to me prepared to flee sooner than die, I remained in their defense. Those people meant the world to me, Lachesis. Not because I was loyal to them. Merely because I was responsible for them. They needed me."

Lachesis nodded numbly, having to swallow again to wet her throat enough to speak. "I-I'm sorry that... it came to that."

"By Prince Marth's mercy, Gra and her people were spared," Sheena replied. "But I was not waiting for such an outcome. I won't wait for such a simple mercy here, either. We all have a responsibility here, Lady Lachesis. It's a waste to ask if we will succeed. I will fulfill that responsibility. Or else I will die." 

Lachesis nodded again. She couldn't escape Sheena's gaze, much as she wanted to. "Thank you," she whispered. "For your drive. I... You're right. It's foolish of me to doubt us." 

Sheena's lips straightened, and then curled down. Her eyes narrowed. "Lady Lachesis," she said softly, "are you... well?"

"Yes!" she snapped, breaking free all at once, turning away and folding her arms. "Yes, I am fine. I'm sorry that I overreacted just now. I've just been - "

"Lachesis," Sheena said seriously, "you've been under far greater pressure than any of us. You mustn't push yourself too hard. You aren't alone."

Once again, Lachesis was rendered speechless, lips parted but words failing to form. She tried a second time - swallowed, and then finally a third: "You are the third person to express your concern for me today, and I'll have you know I don't appreciate it." 

"Don't appreciate... my concern?" Sheena sounded taken aback. Even hurt. "Lady Lachesis, I... I-I must have misunderstood something."

"N-No," Lachesis gasped, turning back to her in alarm, "I don't mean... One just..." She sighed, bracing against the table Sheena had been sitting at, hanging her head. "One has her pride to consider," she mumbled, scarcely above her breath.

_"I'm not in this for the sake of bloodshed," Sigurd said, "but princess, you may just be right."_

_"It's not that," Ayra gasped, turning to Lachesis with a little smile. "The Princess of Nordion has her pride to consider. That's all."_

"Perhaps you're right," Lachesis whispered. "I just..." 

"Take some time to rest this afternoon," Sheena implored her. "Restore your spirit. I'll finish your rounds, if you like. It's no trouble for me." 

"I won't have you doing work on your rest day," Lachesis gasped.

"If the enemy appears, I mean to raise my axe and shield for you," Sheena retorted, her voice stern. "Until we return to Askr, there are no rest days. I've recovered enough; it's your turn now. I'll walk you back to your room if you force me to." 

Lachesis tried to smile; what happened was she laughed weakly, and it crumbled away into something that she direly hoped Sheena did not realize was a sob. Everything she was saying was so agonizingly familiar. Her way of speech, the intensity of her gaze, everything. Ayra may as well have been standing in front of her. "Please, no more," she whispered hollowly. "I'll go." 

"Good," Sheena huffed, satisfied, a faint smile relaxing her face. "Very good." 

 

The sun hung low in the afternoon sky when Lachesis returned to her room. She paced it aimlessly for a long time. Flashes and glimmers of Silesse and Phinora plagued her. Warm smiles of relief and exaltation shared with Ayra. Proud words - _her own words_ \- echoing out across their assembled company as they prepared to set out for Velthomer, as Lachesis raised her sword high. She touched the pommel on her belt; she still had that very same sword. There had come a moment, she remembered, when she and Ayra had shared excited whispers of hope. 

_Maybe Deirdre is waiting for us,_ they had dared to breathe. _Maybe we'll find her in Velthomer._

They certainly did find her, didn't they? 

How long had it been since she'd been filled with such agony? Such stinging regret? Every memory filled her hands with burning sand that drained away within moments, glimpses of things she'd long since given up on ever seeing again. Each time, she was losing them again. Failing them again. Failing Nordion, failing her people... failing her brother. Every breath was filled with the barbs of her guilt. 

She couldn't stay standing all day. She sat at the edge of her bed. Orange and pink stained the sky. She felt trapped. The bed was pulling her in. She wanted to sleep, but who knew what horrors awaited her from behind her eyes? It wasn't really that she wanted to sleep - so much as she wanted to stop being awake. She wanted to stop feeling this. 

A knock came at her door. Darkness was overtaking her window, a solemn moonrise visible just outside. Lachesis dried her cheeks dutifully. "Who is it?" 

"It's me," called a high, cheerful voice that absolutely didn't belong in Lachesis' mind. "I know, I know, I'm sure I'm the last person you expected to visit you, but - well, I..." The cheer faded. "I have some stuff I'd like to say, if that's okay." 

Fuck it, sure. "You can come in, Mae." 

"Thanks." As Lachesis glanced up, the door barely opened, Mae shimmied inside, and then she slipped it closed again. Lachesis found that movement odd - as if she didn't want anyone to know the door had been opened. She tiptoed over to Lachesis, smiling nervously to her as she approached. "You look exhausted," she said faintly. 

"I am exhausted," Lachesis murmured, regarding her dryly. "What did you need?" 

Mae sighed. "Ma'am..." She faltered. "I... I admit that it's... well..." She glanced away, her cheeks faintly darkened. "Like I said, I'm sure I'm the last person you expected to say this, and I'm sure you're sick of it by now. But I just... I just want to ask how you're feeling, if you're willing to share." 

"You took your time getting to the point," Lachesis observed. 

"I'm trying to be polite," Mae snapped, whirling around to glare at her. Lachesis smiled weakly. 

"I have nothing to say that I haven't already said," Lachesis replied. "I'm sorry if that disappoints you. I'm not withholding things from you. I simply..."

"Don't wanna talk about it," Mae finished quietly. "I getcha. Doesn't bother me, ma'am. I just feel like it'd be wrong for me not to ask."

"Is that all you came here for?" Lachesis asked, trying to sound as sincere as possible. It would be a little silly if so, but it would also mean that Mae had invested time and care into this, and... Lachesis appreciated that. She was right that Lachesis would not have expected it at all. 

"Kinda." Mae smiled lopsidedly, for just a moment. "I guess I should just say, I'm here because I owe you. You saved..." She paused, closing her eyes, clearly steeling herself. "You saved Celica's life," she whispered. "I don't think you realize how much that means to me." 

"I did it on impulse," Lachesis said honestly. "I did it because I... We can't afford to lose anyone." 

"It doesn't matter why," Mae laughed. "The fact of the matter is, if you hadn't been there, Celica would be..." she sniffled. Lachesis' eyes widened, surprised, and even more surprised by the breaking of her voice: "C-Celica would be dead," Mae whimpered. "I don't know... how I'd cope with that. So I really owe you, ma'am." 

"You don't owe me anything," Lachesis whispered. Mae shook her head fiercely. 

"Boey feels it too, he's just a big dork," Mae said firmly. "And Genny's too shy. But we all love her, and without you, we'd have lost someone we all love. So we want to take care of you, too. So that's why I'm here, to - just to see if there's anything I can do, and to make sure you know that what you did means a lot to all of us." 

_There's nothing you can do,_ Lachesis' heart said, and she opened her mouth to say it.

That would be dismissing her. That would be telling her to leave. Mae would walk out the door, and Lachesis would be alone. 

Again. 

"Keep me company," Lachesis' voice said. 

"Huh?" 

"I-I..." What was she saying? "I-I don't want to be alone," Lachesis stammered. "I mean - it's - it's just tiring, you understand. One withers in only one's own company."

"Oh, yeah," Mae gasped, beaming. Lachesis felt... warm. Glad. Watching her smile was... "I think I know what you mean," Mae offered. "Can I sit with you, or, um..."

"You may," Lachesis agreed, shifting to the side some, and Mae happily sat down on the bed cross-legged behind her. Lachesis turned to face her, folding her legs under her. 

"Do you wanna talk about something?" Mae offered, but then she immediately winced. "Nope! You don't. Already made that clear. Well, it's kinda self-centered of me, but - I could just... ramble for a little while, I guess? Better than no company, I hope."

Lachesis wanted to laugh. She wanted to cry, too. What was this feeling? "Please tell me about yourself," she managed. Her cheeks ached. Mae was grinning again. 

"Alright, well, just stop me if you get bored," she laughed. "Cause truth be told, I'm not that interesting! I grew up with Celica in the priory, right?" 

"What was that like?" Lachesis asked softly. "Novis is an island, isn't it? It must have been a very insular community."

"Suppose so," Mae agreed thoughtfully. "It just kinda meant we were all stuck around the same people all the time, right? But... well... as far as friends go, I could do much worse. Genny's such a sweetheart, and Boey's a blockhead but he's lovable and dependable at least. And there's Celica of course, but - well - "

"You needn't speak of her if you don't like," Lachesis said kindly. "Tell me more about Boey. You two seem close."

"Well, we're married," Mae huffed, sticking her tongue out. Lachesis was so struck by the gesture that she laughed. It was a bit vulgar, but that didn't really bother her. She'd grown up around enough vulgarity that, when she wasn't trying to impress someone, it was hard to be offended by it. "I mean, he doesn't like to make a big deal out of it, but that's how it be, and _SOMEBODY_ 's gotta be proud of it. But yeah, he's a good kid and all. I'm sure some people probably think we make an odd match but I dunno, I think we complement each other pretty well, as long as we get along."

"I would agree," Lachesis hummed. 

"Aw, really?" Mae smiled radiant. "That's so sweet of you to say, ma'am! Well, anyway, since you asked, he's been stuck at the priory even longer than me, and you can kinda tell he doesn't have the same sorta outlook I do. He's kind of a downer sometimes, but especially when we were traveling around with Celica it made sure we all saw the next sunrise, you know?" Lachesis nodded. "And when you think about it like that," she continued, "I realized he's just a big softie that's worried about everybody, and that's really sweet in its own way, too. I bet he knows he's being a big negative Nancy all the time but it's just his way of showing he cares. So I try not to make fun of him for it anymore. I dunno if I should encourage him too much, though, or else it might go to his head, right?"

Mae yammered on and on for a long time. Boey joined them after an hour or so, bringing them each dinner, and he sat with them and joined the conversation. The warmth in Lachesis' chest never really faded; she just listened as they both talked about one another and about their home, about Genny, about the other people they'd met on their journey with Celica... and all the while Lachesis listened. 

"You're a really good listener, you know," Mae offered, at length. The night was deep by then.

"You're a good talker," Lachesis countered, with a playful smirk. 

"Don't encourage her," Boey groaned, and Mae turned back to him and winked, wiggling her hips. "Look, you'll give her an ego..."

"Already got plenty of that," Mae snapped, grinning. 

"A little bit of pride isn't a bad thing," Lachesis added heatedly. "Or do you want to stifle her? Hm?"

"No!" Boey cried, clearly quite distraught. "No, I definitely don't. She's great the way she is. I just don't want her to get _too_ chatty, and make trouble, is all." 

"Awww, see?" Mae giggled. "Isn't he so sweet?" Boey rolled his eyes; Lachesis chuckled. "You know," Mae added, "you're a real sweetheart deep down, too. I can tell."

"Huh?" Lachesis blinked at her, startled. "I - well - hm."

"I mean, you came across all cold and stiff and everything, when we showed up," Mae explained. "Really intimidating and all that. But all day today, everyone was talking about how worried you are about all this. You're keeping everyone from overworking, and you're doing your best to hold all this together even after what happened last week."

"Mae," Boey said cautiously. 

"I mean," Mae gasped, "just, you know, with the way - everyone's mood kinda tanked a bit, you know?"

"I know what you mean," Lachesis said softly. Mae probably did not mean to refer to Lachesis'... episode. But she was right either way. 

"And talking with you tonight," Mae added, "you've been so nice. I honestly didn't really think you'd be listening, but... I guess I'm surprised you've been so interested." Lachesis smiled faintly. "I'm just some boring nobody from an island somewhere," Mae started, but Lachesis cut her off.

"You are Mae of Novis," Lachesis said softly. "You are under my employ. You deserve my respect." 

Mae faltered for a moment, her lips working silently, a blush spreading over her face. "Gosh," she laughed nervously. "You... wow. You come across really regal, too, when you want to." 

Lachesis smiled kindly. "I am a princess, after all. I take that role very seriously." 

"I can tell." Mae nodded. "So, let me just say it again - I'm real sorry about what happened before, the whole threatening you about Celica business, and thank you again for being there for her. I'm not about to forget that, alright? So!"

"It's getting late," Boey said softly. "Are we bothering you, ma'am?"

"I figured she'd say something," Mae said crossly, folding her arms. "Right, Lady Lachesis?"

"You're not bothering me," Lachesis hummed. "But it will be time for our watch shifts soon. I should do my part."

"Nuh-uh." Mae drew herself up. "You've got the evening off, right? That's what Sheena told us, and everybody agreed you needed the rest, so you're gonna rest. That's final."

"We already decided the watch shifts," Boey agreed. "Sorry for doing that without you, ma'am, but we figured you could use the time to yourself."

"Mm." Lachesis frowned a little. 

"I actually have first watch," Boey added with a sigh, standing up. "Please excuse me, ma'am."

"Thank you for visiting," Lachesis said softly. "Have a safe watch." Boey smiled and bowed; Lachesis turned to Mae. "You should rest, too," she added.

"Nah, I can keep going," Mae huffed. Then she yawned. When she finished blinking herself out of it, Lachesis was smiling rather smugly at her. "Look," Mae said defensively, "I'm not a quitter, okay?" 

"You have a watch shift, too, don't you?" Lachesis inclined her head. "Get some sleep, Mae. You've done enough tonight."

Mae hesitated, but then sighed. "I guess I can't just stay here until you get annoyed with me," she mumbled. "Alright, yeah. Just remember, I'm not through helping you, okay?" She hopped up and saluted. "If you wanna talk more, just say the word! I'll chat your ear off any day of the week!" 

"Thank you, Mae." She waved delicately. "Good night." 

"Good night!" Mae grinned and waved back, a definite spring in her step as she and Boey walked to the door and left. When the door latched closed, Lachesis was left alone. The smile on her face was fading. The ache in her cheeks subsiding. But a tiny ghostly flame remained in her heart. 

A memory visited her shortly after she laid down. But she allowed it to fill her. It didn't hurt, and when it finished, she drew upon it again. And again. 

_"Why are you talking to me?" Ayra sighed._

_"Are you not Princess Ayra of Isaach?" Lachesis deadpanned, raising her eyebrows. "Outcast from her country on a mission to reclaim and protect the heir to the throne, waiting for a chance to reclaim her people's full honor and glory?"_

_"Yes," Ayra said dully._

_"Are we not of similar mind and purpose?"_

_"I guess."_

_"Then we should stick together, shouldn't we?"_

_"That doesn't mean you have to be so chatty," Ayra huffed._

_"Well, forgive me," Lachesis snapped, "for trying to be sociable! Honestly, I thought Isaachians were a more grateful people - "_

_"Don't you dare," Ayra snarled, and Lachesis smiled wickedly._

_"Aren't you grateful for my help and company?" Lachesis taunted. "Hmm? Or is it not true after all what they say about Isaachians repaying their debts?"_

_"I don't owe_ you _anything," Ayra hissed._

_"Perhaps you two should continue your conversation somewhere more private," Quan ventured, ahead of them. Their gazes both snapped to his - Lachesis felt her face flushing, and her fists clenching._

_"I will be sure to let Eldigan know about that little remark, when we find him," Lachesis snarled._

_"I'll be sure to let him know about everything else you two talked about too," Quan hummed innocently. Ethlyn giggled beside him. Lachesis struggled for words, but was taken aback to hear Ayra loudly grumbling beside her - she turned, and the princess was looking away, arms tightly folded._

_"What?" Ayra growled, glaring up at her._

_"Given Lord Quan's brazenness," Lachesis said darkly, "one's annoying presence is needed elsewhere. Truce?"_

_Ayra smirked. "Oh, going to avenge yourself, are you? In that case, why don't I join you?"_

_Lachesis grinned, her eyes sparkling. "Even better."_


	6. Chapter 6

_Jun 1_

"Lady Lachesis?"

Lachesis' breath caught. "Ah." She sighed, then took in a deep breath, immersing herself briefly in the scent of the grass and the maple trees before them, allowing the sensation to wash away her previous thoughts. "My apologies," she said sincerely, turning back to Sheena, who was smiling patiently at her. "Please repeat what you were saying."

"I wasn't saying anything, actually," Sheena said softly. "Perhaps it was indulgent of me, but I thought we were just enjoying the walk together." 

"If you'll allow me a second chance," Lachesis offered, "I might like to join you in that." She smiled faintly at the woods on their right side, clasping her hands behind her back. "A bit unkempt, isn't it? In your domain were there woods just beyond the walls?"

"No," Sheena replied. "We were flanked by water, which had its own quirks. I've heard many stories of young noble children getting lost in woods just beyond the walls of their estate, however. Enough to be nervous about them."

"Yes," Lachesis sighed, a sour memory returning to her that she immediately had to shake away. "Yes, I know the feeling. They provide cover, but that can be just as dangerous as it is relieving."

They fell silent after that. Their walk had purpose - they were inspecting the outer perimeter for potential vulnerabilities. The woods here would make it difficult to stop ladders from being set up, Lachesis noted, but this section of the castle also had very poor accessibility to the rest. All it would take would be sturdy barricades inside the guard towers, cutting off the battlements from the front. From there, their only choice would be to drop down into the courtyard... and join the fray, same as anyone else. 

"How are you feeling?" Sheena asked. 

Lachesis wasn't any less tired of being asked this, but it hadn't slowed down at all a week after the first attack, so she had decided she'd just have to deal with it. "Well enough today," she replied. She had to supply some kind of qualifier like that, or else it'd be suspicious. It would sound like a mechanical, dishonest answer, and that would be unbecoming of her as a commander. 

"That's good." Sheena, at least, didn't seem too interested in pushing for more details. Klein had a tendency to be a bit too doting, and Mae was nothing if not... persistent. "Truth be told, I've been rather on edge myself lately," the princess continued. "No sign of Embla or Crimean troops in over a week. Something about that doesn't seem right."

"I've mentioned as such to Kagero," Lachesis agreed. "Kiran is evidently drawing near to ending occupation of the World of Shadows. So I'm choosing to optimistically believe that Veronica has concentrated all of her attention there, for the time being, since we aren't as pressing a threat."

"That may be true," Sheena murmured. "But it's certainly very optimistic."

"If I am wrong," Lachesis added coolly, "we will be ready, and we will stand in Veronica's way. Yes?" 

"Yes, we will," Sheena rumbled, a little smile touching her lips. "I suppose that's all that matters."

 

Lachesis found no other obvious weaknesses in the exterior wall, which was some small relief but not overly surprising. Ever since Klein's suggestion to focus on holding the courtyard it had grown somewhat easier for Lachesis to imagine victory, and with that image in her mind she could form a plan to get there. It was true that she was not a tactician, but she had several very capable veterans in her employ. Kiran had never intended for Lachesis to handle this by herself, after all. 

Effie and the men were busying themselves reassembling the portcullis - reforged and reinforced this time with Askrian steel. A gift from the royals, or so Kagero had said - and she'd brought them quite a bit more than that over the last few days. Even if Kiran couldn't spare troops, the Order could spare many more supplies. Higher-quality wire for laying traps. A strange powder to use along with their tar, stronger weapons and greater stocks of arrows and staves... Even powerful tomes in the Askrian style of magic, which empowered their user the more allies were nearby. 

But Lachesis felt they could do better still. 

_"Your Sleep staff is truly very beautiful," Ayra swooned, the very image of overacting._

_"But ours may yet be moreso," Deirdre added, unable to contain her coy smile. Lachesis, for her part, was only narrowly restraining fitful laughter. She believed the applicable phrase here was 'hook, line, and sinker'._

_The vain lord scrambled over his own throne, taking in the staff in Deirdre's hands as she unveiled it from its cloth wrappings. "Goodness," he gasped, "it very well may be! Pray tell, what magic is it enchanted with?"_

_Deirdre raised it high, her smile blooming in triumph, and in unison Ayra and Lachesis drew their swords. "Silence!" Deirdre cried._

She shook away that memory under her own power, though not without a wistful sigh. 

A Silence staff, though - what a treasure that would be to wield again. Back then only Deirdre had the spiritual strength to control such a powerful and dangerous magic, but Lachesis had grown quite accustomed to staves in her own right. Even if she could only get her hands on something weaker, a Sleep or a Paralysis - that would still be a massive help. But Askr was lacking in such powerful staves, it seemed. They'd have to find them in Tellius somehow. 

When she checked in on Team Novis, she asked about it. Genny had already explained her talents as a priestess; even if she couldn't use staves at the same level as Lachesis, her own support magic would be just as useful, if not moreso. They seemed rather distraught by the concept of a Silence staff, though. Lachesis didn't blame them - it certainly was a powerful ability.

"Celica's been reading a lot about the history of this world," Boey observed, rubbing his chin. "I bet she'll have a better idea what our options are than any of us."

Lachesis tightened her brow. "Where _is_ Lady Celica?" She slowly turned full-circle, but the balcony they were practicing on was not very large. "Did she need to step away?"

"She wanted to practice on her own," Mae answered. "All mysterious and spooky-like. She's like that sometimes."

"Celica has mastered more advanced magic than any of us will ever have access to," Boey added, "but I think she doesn't like to feel like she's rubbing that in our faces or anything. She's gotta practice like the rest of us, though."

"Advanced magic," Lachesis said slowly. "It wouldn't be...?"

"The spell she was casting at the gate, yeah," Mae sighed. "Ragnarok." 

Lachesis could feel the blood draining from her face. "I'll see if I can find her," she said curtly. "Thank you." 

 

Lachesis tried the library first, hoping to find her there. She didn't. As she continued her search, she began to hear strange, very loud popping sounds, muffled as though from a great distance; following them took her to the back side of the keep, facing west, until she ascended to the keep's crenellated roof. Round bursts of smoke drifted lazily past as Celica paced the battlements, gesturing with bare hands before projecting a tiny white jet of flame forward - which then exploded in a violent burst of light and sound, a giant fireball only briefly visible before receding into choking black smoke immediately after. 

She didn't seem to notice Lachesis approaching her and continued to cast, causing Lachesis to flinch with each; as she drew nearer Lachesis could see strange bands of black skin marking Celica's wrists... 

"Celica," she gasped, and then she raised her voice to a shout - " _Celica, what are you doing?!_ "

Celica jumped, startled, and swiftly gathered her cape around her hands, hiding them. "I am practicing," she said stiffly. "Is something wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." 

"Show me your arms," Lachesis instructed seriously, closing distance on her. 

"Why?" Celica said defensively, stepping away, but she didn't retreat to match Lachesis' advance - Lachesis grabbed her arms and forced them into the open after a brief struggle. Celica's wrists and palms were strangely marked by patches of blackened, peeling skin. 

"What - what is this?" Lachesis whispered in horror, gesturing to the marks - Celica snatched her hands back and buried them in the folds of her cape again. "Celica," Lachesis cried, "what are you doing to yourself?"

"I am practicing," Celica repeated, watching Lachesis steadily. "Ragnarok is a powerful spell that uses my life force as a catalyst. If I don't endure a little pain to train myself, I won't have the strength to use it at crucial moments in battle."

"A little pain!" Lachesis repeated incredulously. "That - that doesn't look like 'pain', that looks like your hands are dying!"

Celica was quiet.

"Let me see," Lachesis pressed, reaching behind her for the Mend staff she kept on her at all times. Dutifully, Celica unwrapped her arms and offered them to Lachesis, and Lachesis cautiously worked the staff over the necrotic skin. It wasn't enough to burn away the black marks, but the skin around those marks was still salvageable; when she finished the black marks were little more than especially ugly scabs, and once they'd recovered some on their own Celica would be able to easily peel them off without hurting herself. Celica tugged her hands back as soon as Lachesis' grip grew loose, hiding them within the folds of her cape once again. 

"They should be fine in an hour or so," Lachesis offered. Her voice was trembling for some reason. 

"Thanks," Celica said quietly. "Did you need something?"

Well, yes, Lachesis remembered rather belatedly that she'd come to ask her about staves, but... "I feel that you should get some rest. Perhaps just long enough that your hands look better, and then rejoin the rest of your team. The Askrian tomes we received will be a significant tactical advantage if everyone can master them." 

Celica sighed heavily, closing her eyes and shaking her head slowly. "There's no point to that." 

Lachesis balked. "No point? No point in learning powerful magic that doesn't involve consuming your own soul?" 

"My soul is mine to do with what I choose," Celica growled, bristling, "but no, that's not what I meant. I meant that there's no point in resting. I don't want to sit around and do nothing, taking up space. I'm already enough of a burden on everyone as I am." 

"Y-You aren't a burden," Lachesis gasped.

"What help have I been to you?" Celica asked tiredly. "I'm not a tactician. I'm not a soldier. The only talent I have is magic, and even then, much of that power isn't my own and comes at the price of my own health. The only advice I've given you are the dishonorable tactics of slavers and bandit lords I've encountered on the road. If I'm not practicing my strongest magic as long as it takes to master it, then when the siege comes, all I'll be able to do is get in your way."

She waited for Lachesis to speak. Lachesis stepped back. Celica's amber-colored eyes glowed brilliant scarlet as sunlight drained away from the afternoon. Her hair was a bit frayed and chaotic. Her shoulders had slouched some. Her elegance, her poise, it wasn't all there. Something was missing. Every moment that Lachesis thought she could form words to answer her, to reassure her, she saw something disheartening that sealed her throat. 

"I'm sorry," Lachesis mouthed, unable to think of anything else to say. 

"It's fine," Celica said dismissively, and she walked past Lachesis to the stairs; Lachesis heard her sigh as she passed, and when Lachesis turned, Celica's eyes were firmly on the ground. 

For the first time since arriving in Askr, she felt tears forming from outside, rather than from within. She could not remember feeling something so intense... ever. It left her trembling in horror and in awe.

 

_"Lachesis," Finn pleaded, grasping her hands in his, "you can't go out there. Not now, not with what we've heard of the cult - "_

_"I must," Lachesis said firmly. "I must do this, Finn. I can't falter now, not when Diarmuid is in danger..."_

_"What about Nanna, and lord Leif?" Finn cried. "They need you, too! Diarmuid is safe with Oifey and Shannan, okay? Stay with us, stay where you are safe and needed - "_

_"Needed," Lachesis spat, a sudden anger overtaking her - but it wasn't sudden, was it? How long had it been building in her heart, fueled by years of hopelessness and sorrow and guilt? "What use am I to you, Finn!? What have I done that our children_ needed _from me?! What purpose does my life have anymore?!" Finn tried to interject but she pushed him back. "Nanna has you," she hissed. "Lief has you. If I'm too weak now to save our boy, then my existence is meaningless anyway. Let me go, Finn."_

_"I need you," Finn whispered. "I love you."_

_"Don't make me answer that," she sighed, fire fading from her heart, replaced with a familiar, aching weariness. "You know I can't."_

_"I know." Finn swallowed. His hands fell to his sides. "I'm sorry, Lachesis. I wish there was more I could do."_

_Lachesis smiled bitterly. "You've done enough, Finn. You saved me all this time. But now I have to save myself."_

How old was that memory? A few months? 

 

But just like before, Lachesis was done letting her emotions wash over her, done standing still while they cracked her foundations. The past she couldn't change. Her destiny to fail, as a sister and a mother and a wife and a friend - that couldn't be changed. But she could still change the present. She could do right by Celica, at the very least. 

Mae and Boey were enthusiastic in trying to help - by their accounts, Celica ate but only rarely, and very slowly; any help they could get in feeding her was deeply appreciated - but it was Genny that knew without a doubt what to make for her. She followed Lachesis to the village in the valley and helped her pick out ingredients. Abel helped her recall her childhood cooking experience, from before she returned to Nordion as the princess - from when it was just her and her mother. 

It'd been a strange idea to her ears at first, but she was rather proud of the finished product, all things considered. 

She divided it into two servings, and carried them together to the library, complete with a bottle of wine under her arm and glasses hooked into spare fingers. Celica was curled in her corner beside the table, but she wasn't reading anything, and looked up as soon as she heard Lachesis approaching; Lachesis smiled sheepishly at her, shrugging with her comically full hands.

"It was a bit more to carry than I expected," she admitted. 

"What are you doing?" Celica said blankly. "Is that wine?"

"Don't worry about that for now." Lachesis skittered to the table, setting things down until she could free up her hands appropriately; beside her Celica carefully pushed herself to her feet. "I'm sorry if this was presumptuous of me," Lachesis continued, offering her one of the two plates, "but I thought perhaps if our standard fare wasn't appetizing for you, I might try something a little more personal."

"A little more -- " Celica shook her head slowly, in disbelief. "I haven't - I haven't had anything like this since..." She gulped, looking up at the princess in shock and distress. "Who suggested this?" she whispered. "Whose idea was it?"

Lachesis' lips tightened. "Genny's." 

"Genny's," Celica repeated, shaking her head again, gingerly accepting the plate. It wasn't much, in Lachesis' mind at least - fruit and a modest chicken breast, cooked together, seasoned with a curious strawberry glaze Genny had taught her to make. It looked and smelled delicious, if very sweet. But Celica seemed... almost disproportionately impressed. Or, Lachesis hoped she was impressed, anyway. 

"Thank you," the mage said quietly. "This looks wonderful."

"Pretending I didn't bring all this," Lachesis added softly, nudging her own plate and the wine and glasses aside, "because one can easily return them whence they came, would you prefer to eat privately?"

"Did you want to talk about something?" Celica murmured, regarding her warily. 

"A little, yes," Lachesis admitted, "but I can make it brief." 

Celica sighed, smiling weakly and shaking her head. "There are chairs in here somewhere. You're free to join me, Lachesis. Just excuse me if I'm a bit quiet." 

 

They hefted the piles of books on the table to the floor to make room for them to sit, shifted the table away from the bookshelf a bit, and sat at opposite sides of it with their dinners. Lachesis offered Celica wine, and she shrugged and nodded, so Lachesis poured them each a glass. Celica swirled hers idly, with an odd glint in her eyes. "I'm not supposed to have this." 

"No?" Lachesis paused, staring at her blankly. 

"Well, I did grow up in a priory," Celica sighed, taking a sip of it with her eyes closed. "Mm. But I can't seem to bring myself to care about that now." 

"Understandable," Lachesis sighed, raising her own glass and taking a gulp of her own. "I suppose I'll get it out of the way early, then."

"You did say you'd be brief," Celica agreed with a smirk. 

"I'm sorry about this afternoon." 

And the smile vanished immediately. "Why? What do you need to apologize for?" 

"Ignoring your feelings," Lachesis said softly. "Pushing my fear on you. Taking away your feeling of purpose. None of that is within my rights. I'm sorry." 

Celica stared at her blankly for a moment, her fork frozen skewered in a melon slice. "I... um..." 

"You're not a burden on me," Lachesis promised. "You saved us, and I saved you in exchange. We're even." 

Celica smiled bitterly. "Not anymore. Now I owe you dinner." 

"This is an apology," Lachesis admonished. "I did wrong by you, and this is concession for that. Yes? Still even." 

"Alright, if you insist." Celica sighed, raising the melon to her lips and sliding it between them. Her eyes narrowed for a moment, then slipped closed, humming with a quiet, distant pleasure. Lachesis smiled a little for hearing it. 

They were silent for a while. Lachesis didn't want to push her to talk, and she especially didn't want to distract Celica from eating. The priestess gave a few more soft indicators that she was enjoying her food, and at length even admitted to Lachesis that it was delicious. At that Lachesis allowed herself a fuller smile. 

"I'm glad to hear that," she replied. Celica pursed her lips.

"Thank you," she said faintly. 

"I told you," Lachesis hummed, "we're even." 

Celica shook her head firmly. "Not dinner," she whispered. "Just... you. All of this. Thank you." Lachesis didn't quite understand... but she thought she had an idea, and she nodded. Her nerves bundled together all at once. She felt weak. 

She basked in that feeling. 

It was strange. This fluttering in her chest that anchored her so firmly to the present. No memory could reach her here - too cemented in the now, too attached to every movement Celica made. When Celica was chewing, she rested her hands near each other on the lip of the table, staring thoughtfully through her food, as though entirely focused on the taste and texture of what she was eating. The curls of her hair bounced faintly when she leaned forward to take a bite. Her expression changed, subtly but frequently, while eating; the sweetness of the glaze and the texture of the meat seemed to please her such that she couldn't look quite so dour while she was chewing. She was very careful never to touch her food directly to her lips. They were such a beautiful shade of glossy red, after all. 

Was she staring? Was Lachesis staring at her? But she couldn't help it - Celica was her reality just then. Celica was the only thing that existed. To look away would remind her of her insignificance. Her helplessness. No - just for now, she wanted to cling to whatever it was about Celica that made her so afraid. It wasn't a bad fear.

The light of sunset streamed in from the window beside them. The window being small, and the library being large and dark, the orange-pink light pierced through the dusty air in shafts, casting a harsh shadow across the other side of Celica's face. It swirled in Celica's eyes, mixing into something like fire but chained, restrained, entirely under control. Fire bound into a shape somehow, and that shape was the ring of her iris. With the sunlight painting her face her skin looked clear and smooth, the picture of beauty and elegance, and yet with such clear power brimming beneath. 

Goodness, why was her heart beating so fast? When had it grown so hot? 

"Are you alright?" Celica whispered. Lachesis felt a shiver travel up her spine. "You're breathing fast..."

"I'm well," Lachesis breathed, aware of a soft smile on her lips that she hadn't intended for, but welcomed nonetheless. "I'm very well, in fact." 

"Oh?" Celica's cheeks tinted red. Her free hand, now unblemished by dead skin, reached up to curl underneath the locks of her hair, resting in the crook between her shoulder and her neck. Lachesis' breath was quite short indeed! "I... I suppose I'm glad. I wouldn't have thought you'd enjoy just watching me silently eat."

"It does sound a little odd when you say it like that," Lachesis agreed thoughtfully. "I'm - not making you uncomfortable, am I?"

Celica's eyes widened a little. "N-no? I don't believe so."

"You don't believe so?" Lachesis repeated softly. "Is something on your mind?"

"No," Celica replied. "Just... just dinner." Lachesis nodded in agreement. 

"I hope it's been pleasant," Lachesis offered. 

"It has." Celica smiled. Her eyes sparkled deep ruby. The curl to her lips faltered. Relief shone through her. But at the same time, every fiber of Celica's being was cast in shadow. It was a sincere smile, not only in its comfort... but also in its grief. 

Lachesis felt her tears building up again, and she hung her head reflexively to hide them. Her impulse was to leave. Excuse herself, stand up, walk away. But she didn't do any of those things. 

"I'm so glad," she whispered instead, in her broken voice. 

When she looked up, Celica had teared up, too. It was worth it.


	7. Chapter 7

Lachesis laid in bed progressively longer every morning. 

Her sleep was fitful and fleeting at best. Her dreams were more violent and horrific than ever. Friends from Crimea were starting to appear there, too. Her mind wanted to guess what their screams were like, what their faces would look like after being burned away. The images were getting harder to shake away, and anxiety that gripped her afterward was more persistent. The veil between her and the world had burned away and it left her vulnerable, shaking, alone, terrified. 

But every day, without fail, she rose, she pulled on her armor, she strapped on her swords and her Mend staff, and she strode out into the cold, hopeless reality that waited for her. 

The others were counting on her. 

 

_Jun 4_

 

Lachesis' legs grew heavy as she walked through the empty entry hall. Her steps grew sluggish, and she drifted sideways towards one of the tables that they used for their dinners, until she was close enough to slump down into it, burying her face in her arms, letting out a long, shivering sigh. 

The harder she tried to hold together, the harder she threatened to come apart. 

Nearly two weeks of silence since Embla had first attacked. Two weeks. Her optimism was wearing very thin. Kagero had warned her this morning that the final assault in the World of Shadows would begin today. If Veronica was planning anything, it would be time to act very soon. They'd fortified the castle and shored up their defense in every way she could think of, but it wasn't enough. Nothing would ever be enough to satisfy her. They couldn't scout ahead to try understand Veronica's numbers, what sort of weapons she had or what the composition of her army would be. She just had to guess. 

Every moment of silence was filled with regret. She tried to be at peace with her past, to put behind her the horrible things she used to be, but that wouldn't alleviate her regret for the present moment. Pretending not to remember her sins wouldn't make her less of a sinner. The fact remained that the Crimean defense was led by a broken woman who'd lusted after her own brother, a coward that fled from Belhalla while the screams of her sworn friends shattered the night, a devil that stole away the heart of a man whose love and kindness she could never repay. Lachesis had no right to lead them. 

That made their loyalty only more unbearable. 

Mae and Boey visited her on nights when she was too exhausted to keep watch. They chatted with her and laughed with her, played cards with her, brought her wine. Genny joined them once, too. Sweet girl. Far too sweet. Camilla made a point of speaking with her at dinner, and any time they met during the day, she asked again and again if there was any more she could do to be of use. 

_I just can't help it,_ she would say. _You're like an older sister to me. I've never had a woman I've looked up to like you._

Sheena was smiling around her more, spoke to her more softly, once asked her if Lachesis thought she would make a good princess. Lachesis had brokenly answered yes, and Sheena had looked so relieved and honored. Klein showed his loyalty through his work, ever attentive to detail, ever seeking the next weakness to patch, the next task to complete. He offered to handle Lachesis' patrols, to lead their evening meetings, to handle her secretarial work with Kagero. Don't hesitate to call on me, he said, with a soft and confident smile. He looked a little like Finn. 

They were loyal to a charade she'd put on to try to convince herself she was strong. That was all. She'd lied to them, along with herself, and they all bought into the lie. But every once in a while, something would happen that would forcibly reveal the true Lachesis. Something like just now. 

"I've been practicing with Invoke," Genny had told her. She clutched her staff tight in her hands, beaming with hope, like a child eager for praise. "When they come I'll be ready to defend Team Novis."

"Good," Lachesis had said softly, with a little smile. "But don't overexert yourself."

"Don't worry about me," Genny had said, a soft but broad smile touching her face. "I'm tough! And I've got Mae and Boey and Celica all looking after me, too." And Lachesis had shattered. 

_"Don't worry about me," Deirdre had said, a soft but broad smile touching her face, cradling a tiny Celice in her lap. "I'm not helpless anymore. And I've got Shannan here with me, too."_

It wasn't going away. Lachesis had considered herself free with her love for women, but none earned so earnest an affection from her as Deirdre and Ayra had. Women who deserved to be idolized. Women who deserved to be protected. Sigurd had taken Deirdre hard, but... he had not been the only one. 

When her brother... when Eldie passed... the desperate hope that she might see Deirdre again was no small part of what kept Lachesis going. 

...But not like that. 

She didn't know what she was crying for, or what exactly she was feeling, but at the moment that didn't really matter. She'd excused herself before anything embarrassing could come out, but now that she was here she couldn't move. The table shook as she tried to breathe through it. Her breaths rattled. They felt hollow against the cold in her chest. Vanishing into the void in her heart. 

Footsteps clattered on the stone floor in the distance...

She pushed herself up with a quiet groan of effort, propping her head up by one palm while she tried to dry her cheeks with the other hand. That was the best effort she could summon just then. When she looked up she saw Celica hovering by the entrance to the hall, watching with a small, apprehensive smile on, and in her hands she delicately carried... 

...She was actually shocked partially back to life, sitting up straighter as Celica approached. "Is that Silence?" she whispered, in awe. "That is, isn't it?"

"Yes," Celica said, her smile growing. "Abel, Selena and I were able to find some powerful staves, in that abandoned church I told you about. One Silence, and a pair of Rewarp staves, as well."

"That's wonderful," Lachesis sighed, slumping a little again. "Thank you, Celica." 

"If I may," Celica added, lowering her voice, "would you like me to escort you back to your room?"

"It's - " Lachesis blinked at her. "It's midday. There's too much to do, I can't just - "

"Lachesis," Celica interrupted, soft but firm. "You just look uncomfortable out here. And I can tell you haven't slept much lately."

"That's my business," Lachesis growled. 

"It is," Celica agreed, her smile turning solemn. "I just want to offer, is all. You look like you could use the rest."

_I'm fine,_ Lachesis said. But the words didn't come out? _I'm fine! I can keep going. I have to keep going._ Her lips were parted but her voice wouldn't form. Celica's expressioned softened, darkened - sympathy written on her face, the desire to help in her words underscored by the respect in her eyes. 

Lachesis was not fine. She should know better.

"Very well," she mumbled, closing her eyes. Celica swept forward immediately, gently wrapping her arm under Lachesis' shoulders and helping her to her feet. 

"I'll have Genny practice with the new staves a bit," she offered, as they walked in step towards the stairs. "We can hold things down for the evening while you rest. And if anything at all changes, we'll let you know right away."

"Thanks," Lachesis murmured. 

"Is there anything else I should know, so you can relax on your break?"

"I'm not worth worrying about this much," Lachesis sighed, under her breath.

"Um...? I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

"Nothing." She shook her head. "Just... complaining."

"That's alright," Celica sighed, rubbing her shoulders. "Complain if you must." But Lachesis, surprised and remorseful, stayed quiet. 

 

For a little while, she paced restlessly in her room, but that felt too entirely familiar. Dark memories kept bubbling up to the surface, but she suffocated them with pleasant ones, instead. It was hard to bear how often the Crimean defenders reminded her of things she'd seen before, people with whom she associated so clearly with failure. But there were other things about those people worth remembering, too. 

She flipped idly through the deck of cards that had been on her person when she'd been summoned. It was a curious thing to have - she didn't remember bringing it with her from Leonster, and... being honest, she couldn't remember for sure whether it had even survived Belhalla in the first place. Ayra might've had it that day. It had belonged to her, after all; she just let Lachesis hold on to it because she found it so novel. They hadn't really played much since Deirdre's disappearance, but... 

...gods, but she wished... she could just... play another game with her. 

She set them down on the desk and refocused on her room. Staying in large, stately bedrooms like this made her uncomfortable - it reminded her of the time after Eldigan passed, she remembered that. For... a couple of weeks, if she remembered right, she just locked herself away and waited, with only the Earth Sword to keep her company. She sat down on the bed and drew it from its little sheath behind her hips - a broad-bladed short sword formed from the fang of an Earth Dragon, with the power to drain the life from its victim into the wielder. Lachesis had used it mercilessly to keep herself safe on the road. Funny - now that she thought about it - she thought she'd left it to Nanna. Odd. 

Experimentally, she thrust it into her arm. This was far from the first time she'd attempted to harm herself with it, so the total lack of resistance as it entered and the total lack of pain as she wormed the blade around in her muscle was not really surprising to her. When she withdrew it, there wasn't so much as a speck of blood on the blade, and it didn't even leave a mark on her skin. That was how it worked, after all; drain the life force from the victim into the wielder... in this case, resulting in net zero.

She wondered how many scars she'd have if it left them. Dozens. Hundreds, maybe. 

With a sigh, she sheathed it again, and set it aside. Just forsaken keepsakes from a life she'd tried so hard to forget that she had almost believed they didn't even belong to her, dredged up from fate to somehow accompany her once more. As though to give her a second chance. Part of her found that offensive - not the concept of a second chance itself, but the idea that she would be given one without her brother and her best friends being returned to her. What good was it, if she was not fighting for what she loved? 

But that wasn't fair, was it? 

Each of the other twelve defenders had smiled at her at some point since arriving here. Selena's was a playful smirk. Beruka's, soft and muted. Abel's wide and gentle. Camilla's was serene and warm, Sheena's not unlike hers but more muted and subdued, while Mae and Effie lent themselves to broader grins when they were pleased. Klein and Gordin both had modest expressions of happiness, but Boey for all his prudence tended to laugh a lot and to laugh well. Genny had a faint but adorably earnest smile that she wore like a necklace whenever it suited her, and... 

Celica's... was special. Of everyone here in the last few weeks, Lachesis may have seen Celica's only honest smile. What was that if not a treasure worth defending?

But here the fear returned, too. Because who she was, _what_ she was, hadn't changed. What was she, but a demon that corrupted and burned and ruined everything she loved? She could hoard the memories of these smiles to herself all she wanted, but Lachesis being Lachesis, she would watch their bearers burn soon enough. 

Time was running out. Reckoning was coming. 

 

A knock came at her door. 

"Mae?" Lachesis asked, a bit dully. "You know you can come in." 

"Not quite," came a softer voice. It was shaking. 

Lachesis started, quickly standing to check behind her. The sky was still blue outside - it had to be late in the afternoon, but afternoon still nonetheless. Everyone else should be outside. 

"Did something happen?" Lachesis gasped. "What's going on?"

"All is well," the voice assured her. Lachesis could place it as Celica's now, but hearing it - acknowledging that the tremble belonged to her - was chilling. "This isn't about... the enemy, or anything."

Lachesis hesitated, taking a deep breath and pushing herself up to cautiously approach the door. "What is it about?" she asked, dreading the answer for some reason she couldn't really place. 

"I don't know," Celica answered, giving some kind of a choked, dying laugh. As Lachesis neared the door she could hear Celica breathing, slowly and heavily, a faint rattle at the edge of each. Lachesis' aching heart was pounding. 

"What do you mean, you don't know?" 

Celica was quiet for a moment. As Lachesis pressed against the door from the inside, trying to hear better, the mage sighed - with a faint thud she felt Celica lean into it, as well. "I just don't want to be alone," Celica whispered. 

That didn't answer Lachesis' question, not really, but it was more than enough information for her to act. She hastily unlatched the door - Celica pushed it partially open without prompt, slipping inside and quickly shutting it again. She guided Celica to sit on the bed, then sat beside her. All the while Celica didn't lift her eyes. Unlike last time, she looked all but pristine - the curls of her hair tidy and firm, the skin on her arms and face unmarked, everything exactly as it should be - but listening to Celica breathe, heavy shaking breaths that came and went just a bit faster than they perhaps should... it was unsettling, like an unexpected draft in a bedroom you thought was safe, like a whistling wind through woods you remembered being full of life. 

"I admit," Lachesis began quietly, "I'm not sure what help I can be, but..."

Celica shook her head, smiling bitterly, still watching the floor. She seemed to want to say something, but stayed quiet. Just... breathing. 

"Did something happen?" Lachesis asked.

"No," Celica whispered. "Nothing happened." 

Pursing her lips, Lachesis faltered, unsure what she was supposed to do. She couldn't just call attention to Celica's state - Celica knew how she was feeling already, certainly. But what was it she'd expected or hoped for here? 

"Why me?" she blurted. 

Celica took a deep breath, and then sighed it out. Her shoulders seemed to be shaking now, too. "I still feel alone when I'm with anyone else," she admitted, her voice just above a breath. "I guess that must seem strange."

"I don't think it's strange," Lachesis murmured, her heart sinking. That didn't help her at all. But Celica nodded faintly, and continued without her. 

"You can't relax when people are counting on you," she breathed. "Something like that."

"Yes," Lachesis agreed faintly. "Something like that." 

"Everyone else," Celica continued, her voice growing agitated now, "expects some other Celica from me. I'm someone of significance where I came from. I'm still supposed to be that person. So..." She sighed again, hanging her head. "Please excuse me," she mumbled, "if I need some time... away from that expectation."

"Of course," Lachesis said softly, hesitantly reaching up to hold her shoulder. Celica crossed an arm over her chest to rest her fingers thoughtfully over Lachesis', as though distantly surprised by the touch. Lachesis wondered if it came across as untoward. 

"May I ask you something?" The mage didn't lift her head.

"You may."

"I was summoned into the Order of Heroes with Mae and Boey and Genny. They're here with me." Celica paused. "I was told you've been here for some months... Did you... do you have anyone from your world here with you?" 

Lachesis paused, too. Her throat felt dry. "No," she said quietly. "I try not to think about the others."

"I can scarcely imagine," Celica sighed. "It must be horribly lonely."

"It is, at times," Lachesis mumbled. She had to take a deep breath of her own just to steady herself again. Something about the soft, sincere pain and sorrow in Celica's voice cut far deeper than her own memories ever could. The walls of the room felt dark and far away, like they were shrouded in deep darkness growing only ever darker, the outside world receding with every passing moment.

Celica laughed, bitterly. "I feel so pathetic around you," she said, shaking her head. "Some of the people who care most about me in the world are standing right beside me, and even with them there I feel like I'm going to fall apart at any moment, but you... you don't complain, you don't stop, even though you've been all by yourself all this time. How can you be so strong?"

But Lachesis was still reeling. The darkness around them was taking strange shapes. Standing at the edge of their circle of light, yet also miles away, towering shapes in her mind's eye. Ayra and Deirdre. Sigurd and Finn and Quan. Eldigan... out of reach, never out of sight. Watching her, just as they always had been, watching her with love and fear and torturous sadness, just as they always had been. 

"I'm not strong," Lachesis said quietly. "Just a good liar." 

"A good liar, huh," Celica whispered. They were both quiet for a few moments, each one a silent screaming agony. She tried to focus on Celica, but Celica looked so hurt and weak and tired, and it was just - it was like looking into a mirror, looking at what she wished she could look like, and yet even as Celica sat here in such a state Lachesis felt so totally powerless. A cry for help doesn't do any good when you're beyond anyone's ability to save. 

_Not again, not again, not again,_ her heart was sobbing. 

"Where is the lie?" Celica glanced up at Lachesis, still wearing that wretched smile. "Are you not a paragon of royalty?"

Lachesis recoiled, shocked. "Where on earth have you gotten that idea?" Celica laughed again, just once, then shifted away towards the headboard, putting her back to it and pulling her legs up to her chest so as to wrap her arms around her shins - curled safely at the edge of the bed, watching Lachesis over the tops of her knees. 

"Most of the time," Celica said softly, "you're everything a princess ought to be. Aren't you? Regal and elegant and commanding. Perhaps something is haunting you that none of us can see, but you won't let it stop you. That's why I feel like you're stronger than me."

"Something is haunting you, as well," Lachesis observed, crossing her arms over her chest defensively. Celica nodded faintly, closing her eyes.

"I'm just a failure," Celica sighed, turning away, hiding her face. "That's all. It's nothing special." 

_Failing once doesn't mean you'll fail forever,_ Lachesis wanted to say, but she didn't even begin. How could she comfort Celica with something that she doesn't believe? 

"So am I," Lachesis murmured instead. Celica smiled faintly, and made to speak... and hesitated. Lachesis wondered if she was faltering in the same place Lachesis just had. 

"I couldn't even kill myself properly," Celica whispered, laughing hollowly. "Or perhaps I just got unlucky?" 

"Was that your intent?" Lachesis said gravely. "You meant to die that night."

Celica shrugged. "I don't think I was thinking it through quite that clearly," she admitted. "I just saw that my friends were in danger, and I thought, maybe this was what I was meant for. You know?" Lachesis nodded slowly. "I remember waking up the next morning," Celica sighed, slumping backwards, "and seeing you next to me, and thinking how... stupid I was. Stupid for thinking that I had the right to just decide to die. Isn't that an awful thing to feel?"

"I won't apologize for saving you," Lachesis murmured. "I have only one thing to ask of you, Celica. The same thing I would ask of everyone here. I ask only that you don't die." 

"Would you rather I die if it meant you could live?" Celica mused.

"No."

"W-what?" Celica seemed startled. But Lachesis held firm.

"No, I wouldn't," she said again. "I'd sooner die than watch any of you suffer." 

"Well, what if I feel the same way?" Celica fired back, sitting up. "Shall we race? First to the dark beyond wins."

"We shouldn't joke about that," Lachesis warned, stiffening. 

"No?" Celica's eyes flashed. "Then do I feel more strongly about it than you? Do I have mortal right-of-way?"

"Celica," Lachesis gasped. 

"I was _supposed_ to die!" Celica roared. "I was supposed to _pay_ for what I did! I'd lost everything worth living for already, but everyone keeps stepping in and acting like I'm supposed to find some meaning in this - this fake life I was given back, as if I should just accept everything turning out fine even though I was supposed to end the world - " 

"Celica!" Lachesis cried. 

"What?!" If Lachesis had hoped to snap her out of some kind of reverie, that isn't what happened - Celica rounded on her, glaring and panting, her rage given pause only briefly. 

"I-..." Lachesis shook her head slowly. "I-I'm sorry," she whispered. "That's not... none of that is what I meant..."

"Of course it wasn't." Celica turned her head sharply away, staring at the door. "Of course. Just like you told me before, it's natural to want to protect the lives of others. Whether they deserve to live or not." 

 

A stunned quiet followed for a few moments. Lachesis couldn't find words, and wasn't confident she could find her voice even if words existed. She was still trying to sort her feelings. Despair and guilt and horror, certainly. But a strange admiration, too. She had not expected Celica to rise up like that, and... watching her was gratifying somehow. 

She wished she had the heart to feel so angry. 

Eventually, Celica let out a long, withering sigh, turning back to Lachesis with a bitter smile. "Sorry," she whispered. "I'm... not sure where that came from." 

"No, don't apologize," Lachesis whispered, shaking her head. "I understand. I just..." She sighed heavily, hanging her head, a hiccup bubbling in her throat that hinted at something worse to come soon. "I just wanted to believe I could help you," she managed. 

"I'm sorry to let you down," Celica murmured. Lachesis shook her head again, looking up slowly. 

"That's not how it works," Lachesis said firmly. "I know that. I can't interfere with you. It was just... some vain, desperate hope that I wouldn't destroy everything I touched, like I always do." 

"You didn't destroy me, if that makes you feel better." Celica smiled wistfully. "I destroyed myself. I'm just waiting for it to catch up." 

"Yes," Lachesis sighed. "Were it only so clear to me, that I could shake myself free of the obligation of living, instead of... instead of dragging everyone else down around me."

"Obligation," Celica murmured, her smile fading. "Does it feel like an obligation to you, anymore? Well... I guess, to a princess, it would." 

"It didn't always." Lachesis laid back on the bed. It eased some of the tension in her stomach, and staring at the canopy of her bed was safer than staring anywhere else in the room. "Once I was full of light and hope for our people," Lachesis recited tiredly. "Once, there was something there one could be proud of. But through my selfishness I brought it to ruin."

_No, you didn't,_ a voice in her heart cried. _Chagall did. Chagall destroyed everything you loved. He turned Agustria against itself with his foolish lust for power, and Eldigan broke over his own principles._

"Perhaps that is a self-centered way for me to think," Lachesis added wearily. "I don't remember clearly what happened anymore."

_Yes, you do! You remember the look of grief on Eldigan's face as he conceded to your pleas, as he promised to seek peace from a king he knew wouldn't give it to him. You remember everyone apologizing to you for what they perceived as THEIR FAULT._

"Maybe we're both being self-centered," Celica snorted. "Maybe Mae should have stopped me. That's a comforting way to look at it." Lachesis would have to be asleep to miss the biting sarcasm in her voice, and she couldn't help but laugh, empty though it felt. 

"Well, ultimately, are we not responsible for our fates?" Lachesis groaned. "Perhaps if I were not so stubborn, I could have changed something. But in the end, someone would suffer a tragedy. All I could really do is stop it from being me." 

"At least, in that sense, your tragedy had meaning," Celica sighed. "I could have done nothing, and all would have turned out the same. I thought I was destined to save the world, but that destiny never belonged to me in the first place." 

"At least you had direction," Lachesis muttered, smiling faintly to herself. "I had arrayed before me a hundred terrible, tragic choices, and no idea where any of them would lead. How does one choose suffering over suffering?"

"That does sound hard," Celica said lowly. 

"Not to diminish your own feelings," Lachesis added hastily, turning to her, but Celica - staring towards the canopy, as well - shook her head slowly. 

"I wonder often if I'm just feeling too sorry for myself. Shouldn't I be grateful to be alive? That would be a normal way for a person to feel, wouldn't it?" She lowered her head again, watching Lachesis. Any sense of anger was gone from her face now. She looked... lost. Lachesis couldn't bring herself to be afraid; after all, she felt lost, too. 

"We aren't normal people," Lachesis pointed out. The corner of Celica's lips curled up for a moment, but her frown remained. 

"No, we're not," she agreed quietly. "I just..." She looked away. "I wish I didn't feel like this," she whispered. "I wish I could settle on a feeling, instead of..." She waved her hand side to side. "Slingshotting, back and forth and back, between hating myself and not caring about anything. Like I can't make up my mind whether I want to die, or I just deserve to." 

Lachesis was quiet, but watching Celica breathe, watching her stare through the stone wall across the room from them, she wondered if she had to say anything. There wasn't much to say to that. She just... agreed. She pushed herself up and crawled over to sit beside her; Celica didn't look over at her until she had finished situating herself. Lachesis spread her arms a little.

"Welcome to the depression bed," she droned. Celica giggled. 

"Ah yes, the depression bed," she sighed, slumping back again and closing her eyes. "Everywhere I lay my head is a depression bed."

"Yes, yes," Lachesis agreed, following suit with her, letting her head rest against the wood behind her and closing her eyes, relaxing in emptiness. "All ye who sit with me, beware. Here there be depression." 

"Lachesis?" 

"Hmm?" 

"Do you ever want to kill yourself?"

Lachesis nodded faintly, though she figured Celica couldn't see. "Sometimes." 

"Isn't it horrible? I remember thinking, a long time ago, how glad I was to be alive, and how hard it was to bear that people I loved had died. But it just feels like such a burden now."

"It does," Lachesis agreed. "And it is horrible. Sometimes, that's the only thought that keeps it from sounding normal. 'It shouldn't be like this, I shouldn't feel this way, I know this is wrong.' But if you live it long enough, it becomes hard to remember."

"I would imagine so." Celica sounded weak and afraid. Lachesis' heart ached again. "How long do you think I have?"

Lachesis raised her eyebrows. "I don't know," she admitted.

"I can't even tell if I want a lot of time, or very little," Celica laughed timidly. "Won't I just be drawing out my suffering, if it's a long time?"

"Do you think you're beyond any help?"

"I don't know," Celica sighed. "Well, yes, but I can't be trusted, I know that. I just don't know what to change. I still have my friends, I still have Mae and Boey and Genny, and my people - Zofia is safe, Alm is safe..." She sighed again, her voice trembling. "Why isn't that enough?" she whispered. 

Why wasn't Finn enough? Why wasn't Nanna enough? Lachesis smiled bitterly. 

"I know that's not the way it works," Celica was continuing sadly. "I know it's some... some sickness in my heart that makes me feel this way. But I don't know how to treat it. I don't know how anyone else would treat it, either. Even when I want to fight, it feels like there's nothing I can do. I'll just... die, slowly. From the inside out." 

"Maybe so," Lachesis muttered. 

"For someone with a terminal illness, I would encourage them to - to enjoy whatever about their life they could until their time came. Find peace and joy in the time they had left. But I don't feel like I can do that."

"That's why you want to die in the first place," Lachesis agreed. "Life is devoid of peace and joy. It's become a burden not worth enjoying. If it was enjoyable... you wouldn't feel so hopeless."

"Yes! Yes." Celica sighed again, and this one trailed into a tiny sob. "Gods. I..." Lachesis turned to face her suddenly, startled - Celica had buried her face in her hands, and her shoulders were trembling. "I'm sorry," Celica whimpered, sniffling. "I feel like... such a failure. Like a waste..."

Taking a deep breath, Lachesis shifted towards her, sliding one arm around Celica's shoulders - before she could place her other hand Celica turned into her embrace, clutching at Lachesis' gown and hiding her face in Lachesis' shoulder. Lachesis welcomed her, holding her close, letting her cry. 

"You aren't a waste," Lachesis whispered. "Not yet." 

"It's so fucked up," Celica hiccuped. "The only person that understands me wants to die, too. I want to live, damn it! I want to be happy..."

"I know," Lachesis sighed, feeling her own eyes sting. "Me, too." She rested her head on Celica's, closing her eyes. They were quiet for a while. 

 

When Celica pulled back from her shoulder, the sun had set, and Lachesis' room was cast in darkness. She hadn't lit any of the candles. The moon was full and cast shining beams of pale light into the corner of the room; it was enough to see Celica by, but little else. 

Celica was still very close. Lachesis felt, impulsively, they should move, but she didn't want to. She didn't want to let Celica go. She didn't want to lose the warmth of Celica's body against hers, the comfort of knowing she was here in her arms. 

"Thank you," Celica murmured. Her voice was dry and cracked. "From the bottom of my heart, thank you." 

"You don't have to thank me," Lachesis replied, shifting back to meet her gaze. They smiled at each other. Nothing had changed, but the glass barrier that had once been between them was gone now, and that was enough to be worthy of a smile. "I admit," she added with a sigh, "it feels strange, caring enough about something to cry again."

Celica laughed. It was a dusty sort of sound, like she hadn't laughed at something in earnest for decades. "It feels nice," she admitted. "It feels nice to have someone nearby that I feel like isn't... isn't judging me, for not being happy. You know?"

"Yes, very well," Lachesis sighed. "We can stand beside one another in mutual distress." 

"Mutual distress," Celica hummed. Her eyes were glittering. "I suppose I could take comfort in that." 

They were quiet. Their faces were very close together. Falling closer.

"Would that comfort you?" Celica asked, voicelessly. Her eyelids had fallen some. Her expression was soft. 

"Yes," Lachesis whispered. 

Her lips were soft, too. Soft, but fervent. She could drown in them and be happy. 

Their eyes were closed. Celica was pressing closer, and Lachesis' hold was growing tighter. She could feel Celica breathing, she could feel Celica's heart beating, harder and faster. She touched Celica's tongue. It came out to greet her. Celica groaned quietly, her leg trying to thread through Lachesis', trying to curl around her. Lachesis allowed it. 

"Lady Laches- is- ?!?"

With a sharp gasp they pushed one another apart, and Lachesis hurriedly jumped upright while Celica shuffled out of the way - in the doorway stood Klein, a lantern held in his off-hand, his eyes darting between the two women in shock. "Klein," Lachesis snapped, " _knock._ "

"I did," Klein said hastily, stepping inside and pulling the door closed. "My most sincere apologies," he added, bowing to her. "I - It's my mistake nonetheless. I assure you I won't speak of this." 

"Good." Lachesis sighed, glancing back at Celica, then pulling herself to the foot of the bed. "What do you need?" 

"It's time for the second watch shift," Klein said stiffly. "In cases where you rest midday, you've always insisted on taking second watch. I thought to leave it open for you in case you were feeling well enough for it. If not, I can take it." 

"No, you should rest," Lachesis said softly. "Thank you, Klein. I'll be right out."

He nodded, bowed again, and quickly darted outside. Lachesis turned back to Celica, who had stood up and was now gingerly walking around the bed; Lachesis stood beside her, tentatively sliding an arm around Celica's side and back and pulling her close again. Celica nestled into her hold with a soft, shaking sigh. She was a bit taller than Lachesis, but only a bit. Lachesis could feel her heart racing again. 

"Get some rest," she whispered. Celica nodded.

"Thank you again," Celica breathed. "Good night."


	8. Chapter 8

Lachesis preferred to be outside. The nights in Crimea were clear. The stars, manifold and beautiful. Lachesis' eyes traced them in the sky above her, arms behind her back, lost deep in thought. No longer could the mere outside world maintain her attention. The raging in her heart consumed all of her. She allowed it. 

Something strange was happening to her. She had broken the surface of the sea of guilt and anger and fear that had surrounded her heart for... _years_ , now, and could see a strange sky above. A foreign sky, one she'd never seen before, a starscape of her own heart that she couldn't recognize at all. But it was still the sky. It was still glorious freedom, and she could reach out and brush her fingers against it, even as she bobbed on the surface of that tumultuous sea. 

How far, and how long, had she merely allowed herself to drift, so far beneath the surface not even light could reach? Maybe she'd touched the surface before. She'd glimpsed some kind of 'freedom' for herself at one point before, after all. Dragged forcibly from the depths by her loved ones, drawn out into the breathing world once again. 

She was supposed to feel like this once before... when Finn proposed to her, she'd cried with what she thought was happiness; she thought she'd felt hope and joy when she held her son for the first time, but something about that feeling was... strange, when she first held Nanna, like on closer inspection she was beginning to understand the illusion. It was an illusion, after all, one lovingly and painstakingly crafted by Finn from the best of his understanding - his very best impression of _a happy life for Lachesis_. Maybe she should have been happy. Perhaps, if it weren't for everything else, she would've been. But by the time she'd left, the facade had faded away and ugly truth of her heart was laid bare. 

It was an existence devoid of hope, after all. She had never meant to marry Finn. She had never meant for her son to flee to Isaach. Hers had been a future of unmarried adventure, filled with laughter and friendship and wine-drunk parties with Ayra and Deirdre and, hell, maybe Ethlyn would join in some time! There was no hope of returning to such a state, and Finn, despite all good intentions, could never rekindle that hope in her. It was a thankless quest he should never have embarked upon. Only Lachesis could find that hope for herself again. 

...Was that what she was feeling now? 

No. Not really. It was... freedom, not hope. Nothing about her had changed. She remained, and would forever remain, Lachesis the sinner, Lachesis the coward, Lachesis the devil, Lachesis who failed her son and abandoned her daughter. But she was so far from that now. Was it wrong to see something new in herself, something worthy of some hollow imitation of pride? Was it wrong to want meaning for herself? Should she, like Celica, simply deserve death? 

She wondered what Eldigan would think. Ever the paragon of virtue, her beloved brother. And yet... he reserved some tiny sliver of sin in his heart, for her. She had always thought that was why she loved him so. Perfection in a man, but pushed aside to make room for love that shouldn't be. It made those meaningful glances across long castle corridors so powerful. The quiet, awkward moments they shared alone, breathlessly wondering if either would take action - wondering what they'd do if they did, asserting that they'd resist, but daring to dream of a world where maybe they wouldn't. 

What do you think, Brother? Do I deserve death? 

No, of course not, he wouldn't ever say so. She smiled dreamily, bitterly. She was Eldie's one weakness. Had he simply rode out to meet Sigurd as had been intended on that horrible, fateful day, she was certain Eldigan would have cut him down without a second thought. Remorse, certainly. Sadness for the death of his friend. But such was service to the foolish, heartless bastard that was Chagall, and Eldigan - _ever the paragon of virtue_ \- took that terribly seriously. 

But he hadn't done that. Some weakness had bid him ride to Madino. It had led him to appear before Lachesis the night before, just one last time. Maybe he meant just to warn her, to guide her to safety before the fighting started, but she had refused that. She often wondered if in his heart he knew what she would say - he just... needed to hear it from her first. After all, Eldigan's knightly vows of loyalty would never allow him to do as she asked. 

But Eldigan wasn't truly loyal, was he? Not to Chagall.

That was what made his death so horrible. Not just that it was of Lachesis' doing, knowing or otherwise. Not merely that he had died for her sake. But that it was the one sin he was willing to commit before the end, the single contradiction in what made him otherwise unshakeable, the single flaw in the masterpiece that elevates it to perfection. Eldigan's death was written in his very being. Had anything, any single thing, happened even slightly differently, he wouldn't be the man Lachesis adored so. That was what made it so hard to bear - it was a tragedy that absolutely could not be avoided by any means. It was just fated to happen.

But if Lachesis could, she'd rewrite that fate. And thinking on it, she was certain that he would do the same for her. Lachesis was not an existence that deserved to be slated for failure, any more than Eldigan deserved to be slated for death. 

So now Lachesis drifted. An existence that was fated to die but snatched away before that final moment by some miracle, and granted a chance to exist somewhere new and disconnected, floating aimlessly under otherworldly skies. 

Under these skies, some wildly irresponsible part of her thought, she could do whatever she liked and it was nobody else's business. That part of her had helped her survive before, a part of her disinterested in living up to the expectations and trappings of men, a part of her that had laid silent so long that Lachesis almost didn't recognize it as her own voice. _Make this new life yours,_ it cried. She wondered about that. She'd sworn an oath of lifelong loyalty to Finn, after all. That's what marriage was.

But when the oath you serve would drive you to needless suffering...? 

She meant no disrespect to Finn. He had worked hard for his family and she absolutely respected that. It was simply as she'd said when they last spoke, painful as that was to recall. He knew she didn't love him. Not really, not in the way that he wanted or deserved. Would he understand, if she did this? 

_If he doesn't, what good is he?_

Unfortunately for him, Lachesis had never really been good at giving a shit about what men thought. 

 

"Stargazing again, huh?" 

Lachesis jumped and whirled around, but smiled and bowed for Boey, catching her surprise before it could manifest something more threatening. "I see we share our watch shifts once again."

"You seem like you're in a good mood," the mage observed, a lopsided smile on his face. They walked in step along their respective walls, some dozen yards or so distant but close enough to hear one another in the quiet of the night. "Did you run into Celica today? Do you know how she's feeling?"

"She's doing better, I think," Lachesis confirmed. "I was glad for the chance to talk with her. One withers in one's own company, after all."

"Yeah," Boey agreed, nodding slowly. "That's good. It was Mae's idea she talk to you, you know. But she kind of seemed relieved when we suggested it."

Lachesis made a note to thank Mae for setting them up, later. "Things went smoothly today, then, I hope?"

"Yeah, everything's coming along fine," Boey replied. "Genny's got the hang of those fancy new staves Celica found, the ballistae on the keep are functioning, we're pretty sure the uh - 'desperate measures', as Mae calls them - the setup in the outer wall is all arranged as it should be. This place is feeling less like a secure fortress and more like a trap, but to hear Klein talk about it, that's basically what it should be."

"Yes, I agree," Lachesis hummed. "Very good. How confident are you that we could repel an attack?" 

"Well, one like before? Easy. Overkill." He sighed. "Don't really want to think about much more than that though." Lachesis hummed a solemn agreement, and a serene silence fell over them. She watched him trade his hands along the battlements beside him, watched the tension ebb and rebound in his face. 

She thought back to Mae's distant, almost pining smile as she admitted how dependable Boey was, and Genny's shining face as she assured Lachesis that she'd be fine with Boey watching over her. Lachesis had ever detested the assumption that all women should place herself within the care of a man to protect her - it made her wary of 'guardian' sorts. But that wasn't what Boey was at all. He was just... a good, thoughtful, worrying sort of friend. In their own way, she was sure that Mae and Genny worried about him, too. Just as they all worried about Celica. And Celica worried about all of them.

It hurt her heart a little, but... sometimes, beauty hurts.

"I think I know why I joined the Order," Lachesis said.

"Huh?" Boey seemed confused. "Oh - I asked you about that the first night, didn't I? You change your mind about not talking about it?"

"Yes," Lachesis agreed, smiling faintly. "Forgive me, for one waxes poetic tonight, but - I think that... for one such as I, this place and this Order... it's another chance." 

"Another chance, huh?"

"A chance for one to do things right," Lachesis continued. "To live by one's principles and to pursue one's happiness. To learn from one's mistakes and grow from one's failures. A chance for one such as myself to distance herself from that which holds her back, and... to start anew in safety." 

"That's awfully specific," Boey said slowly. Lachesis laughed. 

"It is," she agreed, turning to beam at him. "One cannot express herself honestly for the life of her, now, can she?"

"Are you making fun of me?" Boey squinted at her, and she laughed again. It felt... so good to laugh. The night and the laughter and the love in her heart all felt so fucking good. She felt alive again. 

"Do you think I'm wrong?" Lachesis cooed. "I suppose it seems frivolous, doesn't it? To choose to discard one's burdens simply because they've come to a new place."

"I don't know about that," Boey said thoughtfully, arms behind his head now, watching the sky himself. "A lot of people do that, when they don't know what else to do. You'd hear stories about troublemakers or outcasts on Novis sailing out to make a new life for themselves somewhere else, right?"

"I suppose that's true," Lachesis hummed. "I hadn't really thought of that." 

"That's something I've learned about princesses," Boey continued, with a heavy sigh. "Princesses seem to think they have to be perfect from the start. Get everything right on the first try. And, well, I can't really know what that's like, but it's got to be hard being expected to live your life like that, without any way to change your fate if it doesn't go the way you hoped for." 

Lachesis narrowed her eyes. "That's an interesting thing to say," she said softly. "How much experience do you have with princesses?"

"More than I should talk about," Boey muttered, throwing her a dark glare. "Be grateful I said that much."

Lachesis chuckled. She thought she understood the meaning of that, but there was no need to call attention to it just then. "Yes, of course," she replied airily. A good, worrying friend indeed, she thought.

"But," Boey added softly, "maybe this hypothetical mystery princess would benefit from seeing things your way."

"I hope so," Lachesis agreed. "I do hope so." 

 

Since Lachesis had missed dinner and therefore didn't know the watch schedule, Boey agreed to fetch the next two guards for her, and let her go to bed early. But Lachesis didn't go back to her room. 

Yes, she deserved another chance. She deserved to try to be happy. Finn would be a poor man if he didn't understand that. That was true and all. But a simpler truth laid underneath all of that: to deny herself now would be to reject the passion that was giving her life. Perhaps it wouldn't last... no, it almost certainly wouldn't. The darkness would return to claim her, and she would sink into the depths of grief and despair again before long. But to choose not to seize this moment while it was here in front of her... that would just be giving up on herself. 

And she knew... none of them would want that.

She didn't knock. She just cautiously slid the door open. Celica's room was utterly dark once it was closed, but Lachesis heard movement, saw a shape twist ahead of her, saw a pair of wide scarlet eyes open in the blackness and fix directly on hers. Her heart jumped. She wondered if she should say something.

"I hoped you would come," Celica whispered. Lachesis smiled faintly. "Am I dreaming?"

"Maybe," Lachesis murmured, reaching up to begin removing her outer clothes. She tracked Celica's eyes as, after she'd removed her blouse and was working on her pants, Celica sat up. She watched Celica rise to her feet and hesitantly start approaching; Lachesis did not flinch, didn't lower her arms, as Celica drew close enough that she could be made out in the scant, distant moonlight. Her face was brilliantly flushed, arms crossed over her chest and teeth pulling on her lower lip, wearing little more than a shear nightgown, poorly tied over her stomach.

"Is this wise?" she breathed, as Lachesis stood before her in only her underwear, her own arms loosely folded. 

"I didn't stop to think about it," Lachesis said simply. "Would you stop me? Only you could." 

Rather than answer, Celica took a deep breath and stepped forward once - grasping Lachesis by her shoulders, then cupping Lachesis' cheek and guiding her face upward into a kiss; Lachesis, surprised but quite delighted, latched her arms around Celica and kissed back. 

When Celica pulled away she was panting. Lachesis gently guided her backwards towards the bed, their eyes locked together, until Celica sat down at its edge and Lachesis carefully set her knees on either side of Celica's hips - giving her the height advantage, now; it was her turn to cup Celica's cheek, to caress it tenderly, to watch her eyelids droop and to hear her shiver, to feel her hands wrapping tighter around Lachesis' midsection - savoring each of these sensations, before slowly, gently guiding Celica into another kiss. 

Celica whimpered into her lips as Lachesis made to part from her again, trailing kisses now down her neck - having to restrain herself mentally from leaving a mark. She wanted to mark her. Maybe if she claimed someone, declared to the world they belonged to Lachesis, they wouldn't be taken away. The thought made her fingers dig tighter into Celica's body, drawing a hiss and a whine from her, and another shivering gasp of pleasure as Lachesis kissed her neck only firmer still. She was losing the battle in her mind. Eying her flesh. Daring it to pull away. It didn't. Instead, Lachesis straightened up, cupping Celica's cheek again and looking into her eyes for resistance. There wasn't any. They only slowly refocused on Lachesis, panting, glittering, waiting, inviting. She kissed her again. 

Celica parted her lips, a hopeful invitation, just as Lachesis meant to offer her tongue to them; emboldened she explored Celica's mouth without reservation, swirling her tongue about Celica's playfully and drawing it out into the open before sealing their lips together again. To her credit, though Celica seemed content to be acted upon, she returned each of Lachesis' movements with gusto, making clear her own desire whenever she could; she took her turn at probing Lachesis' mouth somewhat more shyly, but certainly with no less fervor. 

During their next breath Lachesis leaned back slightly, disengaging only long enough to unhook her bra and pull it firmly off of her, tossing it aside. She paused there for a moment, allowing Celica some time to appreciate her chest, but Celica took the initiative here instead and pulled Lachesis into her again, burying her face between Lachesis' modest cleavage and peppering the valley of her breasts with kisses; her lips tickled a bit and Lachesis couldn't help but gasp and giggle faintly, but she took it in stride and pushed her breasts out into Celica's face happily, meanwhile threading her fingers into Celica's hair to hold her there and using her free hand to free Celica's nightgown from her shoulders. "Okay," Lachesis breathed, "my turn, it's my turn please..."

Celica shifted back and looked up at her, and Lachesis gently pushed on her shoulders - Celica fell agreeably onto her back and Lachesis crawled over her, lowering herself into Celica's chest to return her affections. Celica writhed under her, wrapping her arms firmly over Lachesis' shoulders and squeezing them together; as Lachesis laid fully atop Celica the mage's legs curled around Lachesis', seeking as much contact as they could find. Lachesis' lips worked their way to the soft, pillowy flesh just above Celica's heart, kissing her firmly before taking skin between her lips, clutching it with her teeth, and sucking firmly - a wet _smack_ sounded as she released it, accompanied by a cry of pain and shock from Celica. 

"Oh," Celica whimpered, "Ah, Lachesis - ?"

"I'm marking you," Lachesis growled, kissing just below that and making to repeat herself. She felt Celica's arms tense on her shoulders. Celica breathed her name, but gave no objections, quivering and groaning as Lachesis left her with another stinging mark... and then another... 

"Have none claimed your heart before now, Celica?" Lachesis hummed, kissing each of the welts more delicately now. They stood out so nicely against Celica's fair skin. She couldn't help but feel just a little bit proud of them.

"N-no," Celica gasped, short of breath. "I-Is that... your meaning...?"

"Yes," Lachesis whispered, drawing herself up Celica's body, her breasts sliding over Celica's, their hips gliding against one another; as she caressed Celica's face, Celica reached up to do the same for her. "Would you allow me to care for it?" she whispered, smiling gently. "I will not promise to be perfect, but..."

"I could imagine no one better," Celica breathed, smiling shyly. "I only hope that I can bring you some measure of peace, too..."

"You already have," Lachesis sighed with relief, lowering herself into another waiting kiss, and another in each of her pauses. "But more than that... you've brought me... something far better."

"What might that be?" Celica gasped, watching her wide-eyed. Lachesis pulled back and watched her keenly, her lips taut. She trusted her eyes to convey the emotion in her heart far more clearly than a smile could. 

"Passion," Lachesis whispered. She sighed longingly, her hand reaching past Celica's cheek, stroking it gently with her thumb as Celica stared up at her in adorably love-struck shock. "Passion," she repeated, "passion so great I thought it might rip my heart asunder... what is life worth living for, if not to love so fiercely the earth trembles beneath you...?" 

"W-what...?" Celica gulped, breathing faster now. "L-Lachesis, I..." 

"Does it feel too fast, to you?" Lachesis' lips twitched upward, just for a moment. "But such is my passion, Celica. Tonight I felt alive, for the first time in many years, and I couldn't forgive myself if I allowed such a feeling to pass without sharing it with you." 

Celica blushed, giggling shyly. "Y-you're very romantic," she observed, a littly giddily. "My heart..." 

"Do I excite her?" Lachesis breathed, gently resting her hand over it. Celica's chest rose to meet her touch, and she could feel the mage's heart beating hard under her. "If this night is a fleeting dream," she added, her voice lower and more serious still, "then I wish only for us to dream to our heart's content. But if something lingers between us come morning, then know this. I will protect you. If there is any happiness left in this world for us, I swear to you now, together we shall find it."

Celica gulped again, before surging upward into another kiss - to Lachesis' shock she pushed up and rolled them over, pinning Lachesis now to the bed, kissing her fervently, with all the aggression and dominance Lachesis had employed before but now at least threefold - Lachesis could scarcely breathe around her, couldn't move against the weight and force of Celica's body above her. When Celica parted, Lachesis swooned, having to blink to make out the girl's panting face above her. 

"No more," Celica whispered. "You make my heart - no, my - my entire being ache with yearning, and I can take no more."

"Then make love to me," Lachesis whispered back. "Dream with me." 

Celica whimpered loudly. "Please don't let this be a dream." 

 

When Lachesis woke, it was with a start. 

At first she thought she was startled awake by her surroundings, but that didn't make sense. This wasn't her room, but she remembered why she was here. Celica was comfortably asleep beside her, and as Lachesis sat up, Celica shifted closer, her expression troubled. She wanted to embrace her, but her skin was crawling. Something was wrong. 

Initially she rose from bed and padded around the room slowly, hesitantly, afraid to disturb something unseen - but with each passing moment came an increasing sense of urgency and danger. By the time she'd redressed, Celica had risen, too, blinking at Lachesis at first with confusion, and then with outright fear.

"What's wrong?" Celica breathed, eyes wide. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Lachesis said, shaking her head, "but doesn't it - doesn't something feel - off, somehow?" Celica, her brow creased with worry, nodded in agreement, and began to hurriedly dress herself as well. Lachesis didn't wait for her, darting out the door and sprinting down the hall. Someone was supposed to be on watch - someone should be awake, someone should know what's happening...

She ran into Camilla, who dashed up to her and ran in step as Lachesis slowed. "Not just me, then," Lachesis growled, trying not to sound as afraid as she felt.

"It was such a dreadful sound," Camilla breathed, her voice quivering. "I can't imagine anyone missing it..."

"S- Sound?" Lachesis gasped. "I was asleep, what happened? Do you know?"

Camilla shook her head, but as they emerged onto the main balcony, they almost ran headlong into Mae, ashen-faced and breathing frantic. "Oh, Lachesis," Mae cried, "you're awake, where - have you seen Celica? We have to wake everyone up - " 

"What happened?" Lachesis gasped, hands on Mae's shoulders to calm her. "What's going on? Are we being attacked?"

"There are armies outside," Mae agreed, her expression turning incredulous, "but - didn't you see it? Or hear it, at least?" Lachesis blinked, and looked at Camilla - but Camilla was staring at the sky. And when Lachesis turned...

Above them should have been a beautiful, calm, perhaps a bit misty early-summer morning sky. And it was there, in parts. But a jagged black line tore through it like a seam, and in the negative space were instead black and blue clouds hallowed by a pale light that couldn't be mistaken as anything but moonlight. The sky above them was split halfway between night and day, not in a single clean line but in shards as though it were tearing apart like fabric. 

"By the crusaders," Lachesis whispered. "Oh no. What...?"

"Did Veronica do this?" Camilla breathed. "What power could possibly...?"

"What do we do?" Mae whimpered. "What's happening? Do you know what this is?" 

Lachesis didn't answer - she whirled around Mae and sprinted up one of the adjoining guard towers, wishing in a moment of frantic whimsy for longer legs just so she could clear the steps faster. As she reached the top and all but threw herself over the parapet, she could see the valley before them clearly, etched in strange interlaced shadows - the strange seams were torn into the earth, as well! - and blanketing the valley floor were gleaming helmets and raised banners. 

An army. Lachesis could not count it, she couldn't take in its magnitude. But just what she saw in front of her must have been five times what they faced two weeks prior. Surely even more than that, and far better prepared. 

Embla had come for them.


	9. Chapter 9

_May 23_

As far as otherworldly figures of legendary power go, Princess Veronica didn't exactly exceed expectations. Outwardly, she was just a sullen child, with a particularly stern glare and a clearly royal bearing, but otherwise not exactly standout. And yet, wherever she went, the world seemed to tremble and people seemed to shy away from her, and particularly from her tome. Elivagar, it was called. Soren had yet to really see what she could do with it, and he wasn't especially keen to find out. It had a menacing enough aura when closed. 

Standing now before him at the head of the war table, hands behind her back, she looked so small as to be out of place. But nevertheless, as the bearer of the brand and tome of the Warden, she was the master of this world. She had absolute authority here, whether she looked like it or not. 

"If the defense there is so weak," she intoned, "why did you retreat?"

"Among their number was at least one very powerful mage," Soren explained. "She jumped off of the forward wall when the gate was destroyed and decimated the entire front line with a few fire spells. I don't know of any magic that can do anywhere near that much damage, but if that's the sort of resistance we can expect when they're provoked, then we can't take them lightly and just throw fodder troops at them until they break."

"Not to mention," Ike said lowly beside him, "We didn't even take out one of them. If you really want to break that place open, we're going to need to prepare an actual siege. There might only be a few of them, but they won't fall over to half-measures."

"A small, talented defense team can hold natural choke points such as this fortress against what might seem like overwhelming odds," Soren added. "A careless army won't even dent them, no matter how many soldiers you send."

"Are you so careless then?" Veronica said darkly. "What is it that you need, if not my numbers?"

"Milady," said the man at her side - tall, blonde, black armor, dark expression; something like an adoptive retainer borrowed from some other world. "What I believe they mean to say is, they don't have the resources to prepare such a siege with the way things are."

"We probably could," Soren corrected. "But you're on a tight schedule, aren't you?" 

Veronica glowered at him in silence for a moment, before sighing. "The Askrians have already reclaimed Zofia," she grumbled. "And the Valentian heroes were not nearly as promising as I'd hoped. If we can't take advantage of their split attention..."

"Fighting on two fronts?" Ike observed. "That usually doesn't go well." Soren nodded sagely. 

"You've opted into a fight that gives advantage to your opponent," he agreed. "If they didn't have such a defensible position at the gate, this would be a different matter, but as things are you won't be able to win both battles at once." 

"What are you proposing, then?" Veronica said icily. 

"Which world do you wish to hold more?" Soren asked. "This one, or the other?" 

"This one."

"Then concede the other one, but slowly. Don't sacrifice any men for it. Just put up enough of a resistance to slow the Askrians' progress, and pull back your forces once they've wasted enough time." Soren glanced down at the table, then back up at them. "Do you have a map of the other world?"

Veronica gestured dismissely; a black mist seemed to course through her hand clutching the tome, then jetted outward from her, coating the table in it like oil. From the blackness, white shapes formed landmasses. "The Askrians are where you are," she said lowly. 

"Good," Soren muttered, as the map continued to shape itself, using shading to denote what must have been mountains. "Yes, this will be simple. Halt the Askrian's progress here - " he pointed to the wall at the map's south end - "then here, in these plains, at this plateau, at this castle, and again at the capitol fortress. Just stall them for a day or so and then pull back. Gather your troops here, and leave a small dedicated defense team in the capitol. That way, they'll need to break through your fortress in a siege to reclaim that world, and meanwhile we'll have a fully assembled army here with plenty of time to prepare. At that point it'll just be who can break through first, and I'm sure you can hold this castle here longer than their dozen defenders can hold the world gate."

"That does sound like it could work," Veronica's retainer mumbled. 

"Of course," Ike interrupted. "Soren's plans always work. He's our strategist for a reason." 

"I would venture so far as to say it's your only option," Soren added darkly. "The worst case scenario is that you give up this other world that you're already failing to hold, but have a fully committed army in this one to fight back with, and you and Askr are back on an even playing field. When you're behind, that's the best you can possibly hope for."

"Very well then," Veronica said softly. "Xander, give the necessary orders. I'll leave it in your hands." She regarded Soren curiously. It made an interesting change from how bored she usually looked. "How long do you need to prepare the siege?"

"Couple of weeks," Soren said, shrugging and turning back to Ike. Ike nodded firmly. 

"Then you will have two weeks," Veronica agreed. "Once we are ready, we will march with our full force against the world gate, and from there mount our offensive into Askr."

 

_Jun 5_

 

As Lachesis watched, the enemy's march halted, a good distance outside of a normal spell's range - and a good bit short of how far they'd advanced when Lachesis had first triggered their ambush, last time. She doubted they could see her within the barracks at this distance, but that didn't matter. They knew that the castle was being defended. They had many more mages, staff users, wings of pegasi in tight formation awaiting the order to attack, ballistae being wheeled towards the front of the line... 

They didn't have much time. 

Turning back, she took in the entirety of the defensive force, all gathered into one room that was big enough for at least twice as many as they. They were talking amongst themselves in small groups; Celica was distributing tomes and staves to her companions with a clear expression of fear, but now and then she'd glance up at Lachesis to show the spark of determination still lingering in her eyes. Sheena and Klein had merged their teams somewhat, since in the early stages of the siege they'd need as many bows as they could wield. Presently Sheena was drilling Effie on the usage of a massive composite bow. Evidently, she'd only started learning since the last attack. Camilla, Beruka, and Abel were discussing signals and movements at various stages of the seige as well; the wyvern riders would need to help clear the walls of attackers, and Abel would need to keep the courtyard clear while also managing supplies if necessary. 

"Ma'am." 

Lachesis turned with a fright - leaning against the wall behind her was Kagero! "H-how did...?" 

"Ninja." Kagero nodded sideways, towards the arrow slit beside her. She looked somewhat more stressed than usual, which - all things considered - was still very impressively calm. "What's going on? What's happened here? Do you know?" 

"No," Lachesis lamented. She folded her arms, trying to pull herself together. She was still in charge here, damn it. "Only that Embla has come for us," she said quietly, "and that we're still here to stop them."

Kagero hesitated, a twinge of - pain? sympathy - something dark crossing over her visible eye for just a moment. "I'll need to report the situation to Kiran," she said softly. 

Lachesis' eyes widened. "Kiran," she whispered. "How fares the other front? Is the siege...?" 

"We're progressing with our siege of Rigel Castle," Kagero replied, a bit wearily. Her cold veneer cracked a little more, an expression of honest concern starting to show underneath. "But not very fast. It will be days before Rigel is liberated."

"Days...?!" Lachesis shook her head in horror. "I've counted nearly a thousand outside right now - how many more could Veronica have? We could hold a thousand perhaps for a day or so, but... more than that, and for longer..."

"With the situation being as it is," Kagero said seriously, "I doubt Kiran will want you to risk all your lives here against such odds, not to mention whatever is going on with the sky. I can't say for sure, but it's likely she will order a retreat."

"No!" Lachesis cried, only more distraught still. "If we give up Tellius - do you realize just how many incredibly powerful figures Veronica has access to here? If the gate falls, we have almost no hope of ever liberating this place from Embla, and we can't seal this portal off to prevent her from attacking through it..."

Kagero took a deep breath. "You want me to ask her for reinforcements?"

"Yes," Lachesis breathed. "Yes, please."

"I've already warned you that we're stretched very thin," Kagero said gravely. "It's very likely there will be nothing to spare until the siege ends. If she can't break Veronica's hold on Valentia, we're still facing two worlds' worth of Heroes, and two angles of attack." 

"And if we lose Tellius," someone snapped, "the war might as well be over, because we'll have no way to get them out." Lachesis jumped - Sheena stood beside her now, arms folded, glaring down at Kagero. The ninja retained her steady gaze, to her credit. "Retreating here is a devastating concession," Sheena declared. "Even if Kiran were to order it, even if everyone else were to leave me behind, I wouldn't." 

_I stood in the prince's path. Even with those once loyal to me prepared to flee sooner than die, I remained in their defense. Those people meant the world to me, Lachesis... because they needed me._

"As would I," Lachesis cried, drawing herself up. Kagero looked between them, shocked now. Lachesis turned - everyone was watching them now, and she stormed out to stand in the middle of them all, spreading her arms. "Who among you would retreat?" she demanded. "You'll live another day. You'll fight more favorable battles. There is no cowardice in a sound strategy, and that's what retreat would be."

No one spoke. 

She met each and every gaze. Abel was smiling faintly. Camilla wore an expression of steely determination, and beside her Beruka's defiance required no words to express. Selena was smilling, too; Effie glared right back at her, entirely unfazed, and Klein and Gordin stood tall and firm in their silence. 

But Team Novis' silence spoke loudest of all. She saw Mae and Genny exchange worried glances. And then they looked to Boey, and Boey looked to Lachesis, grimacing. "It would be wise," Lachesis said softly, directly to him. "I understand that." But Boey didn't answer. He looked to Celica. Celica took a deep breath and sighed it out slowly, turning back to Lachesis and meeting her gaze. Her lips were taut and her eyes blazed with righteous fire. 

"It wouldn't be wise," Celica said softly. 

"Yeah," Boey said softly. "You say that, but at the same time, Sheena's right, too. We're here for a reason. We can't lose the World of Radiance."

"Then," Lachesis said quietly, though in the quiet her voice filled the room. "Do you understand what is required of you? If you stay here, it may not be your spells, your arrows, your swords or lances that stop the Emblian advance. It may be your life that you're asked to sacrifice. Are you ready for that?"

"Of course," Klein said softly.

"We're warriors," Sheena said simply. "If we wouldn't bet our life on a cause, we wouldn't fight for it."

"We do not make idle promises in Nohr," Camilla intoned. 

"You know well where my loyalty lies," Celica whispered. "I'm not leaving your side, Lachesis." 

"Hey, hey, you don't get to hog the cool lines all to yourself," Mae cried, "alright?" She whirled on Lachesis, arms folded. "Look! I'm pretty scared! I'm big enough to admit that. But Boey and Celica are the smart ones here, so if they say we can't lose, then I know for sure we can't lose. You're gonna learn just how tough we are!"

"I'm ready," Genny said, softly but surely. "I'm ready to roll." 

"On my pride as a knight of Altea," Abel declared, "I have no intent to back down from any challenge." Across the room from him, Gordin nodded his agreement. 

"You don't have to worry about us," Selena added sharply. "We're not here for a day trip. If Lady Camilla's ready for this, then you can bet your ass we are, too." She turned to Effie with a shark-toothed grin. "Don't let me speak for ya," she added coyly. 

"I bet Lady Elise would want me to retreat," Effie admitted. "But I'm not the kind of knight that could feel good about that. She's busy in the other world, so I'm gonna keep our home safe. That's what I do." 

Lachesis, unable to hide her smile any longer, turned back to Kagero with her arms folded, smugly triumphant. "There you have it," she whispered. "Return to Kiran with your report and inform her that we _refuse_ to retreat. She may send us reinforcements if she likes."

Kagero shook her head slowly. "Kiran can't without compromising Valentia," she said slowly. "She won't want to leave you here like this, I know that much about her, but..."

"Then finish Valentia quickly," Lachesis said coolly. "We will be waiting for you." 

For a moment of dumbfounded silence, Kagero turned full-circle to everyone in the room. Lachesis didn't need to look back to understand the response she was getting. She sighed, and smiled wearily to Lachesis. "Don't die," she said softly. "I can tell we're going to need you." She bowed faintly, a hand over her heart, and Lachesis bowed back. Then she vanished in a swift plume of smoke, and Lachesis and her defenders were left alone. 

"Alright," she cried, turning around again, as tall as she could manage. Everyone's eyes were on her. "Don't worry about the sky," she instructed. "Don't worry about the numbers, don't worry about their weapons or anything else. It's just an attack on a fort and that's exactly what we've been preparing for for the last two weeks. They're just an army, and they're going to break on us like water." 

As she scanned their faces, she saw a few nods, a few little smiles, but no dissent at all. "Good," she said, smiling and raising her voice. "Everyone to their stations! Let's show Embla just how powerful we truly are!" 

 

They huddled in their positions out of sight, to begin with. Their attackers knew they were here, of course, but that didn't mean it was wise to advertise their positions too clearly. Lachesis watched as their front line finished assembling, a line of wheeled ballista just ahead of tightly clustered magi with staff-bearing attendants, and longbows and crossbows just behind them in turn. This was a very standard opening volley, and Lachesis had prepared for standard tactics, but the sheer numbers remained daunting. This was a full battalion and then some, a serious military commitment. With that amount of force, their enemy didn't need to be clever, they just had to overwhelm them. In a way, that meant the longer they fought in a standard way, the more dangerous this was for the Order. 

Thirteen against one thousand. What were you thinking, Lachesis?

She heard the first orders being given - a booming voice commanding to arm the ballista - and turned away from the wall, wincing; far from her but huddled down at eye level was Celica, and their eyes met for just a moment before the chaos began. Celica smiled weakly. Lachesis smiled back. At least something had gone well before all of this fell apart.

"Have to strike first," Lachesis mouthed. Celica nodded. The ballista were being ordered to standby. They had only seconds.

"On your order," Celica mouthed back. 

There was a tome in front of her. She only had one chance to get this right - then she had to run to the side turrets, because they didn't have time to split their attention between the ballistae and the advancing mages. They had to destroy the artillery in a single volley. 

She took a deep breath, and flipped it open, allowing the words - allowing the deep power imbued in them to flood her mind - 

"NOW!"

Team Novis all stood together, four mages and Genny with her Pain staff - first Genny brandished it at an operator, and the staff's chaining nature spread between the front lines rapidly, paralyzing the enemy with brief but intense agony, and in that pause four Meteor spells crashed down on the ballista - and then four more, and then four more, radiating outward. Somehow, none of their shots overlapped. Somehow they obliterated twenty ballista in less than thirty seconds, all together. 

"Good!" Lachesis shouted, the need for haste far outweighing her elation that somehow that had _worked_. They'd need that kind of luck all day. "Keep going!" she shouted. "Bolting for fliers! Leave the magi to us!" She discarded her expended tome, and sprinted down to the corner turret where Selena was drawing her own bow, and Klein was arming the south-side ballista. There was a bow waiting for her, and a healthy quiver leaning against the battlement, too. 

"You going to thank me for setting this up or what?" Selena demanded, as Lachesis hurriedly drew her first shot.

"Yes," Lachesis snapped. "After."

 

"That was fast," Titania observed, her voice as innocently impressed as could be. 

"They know what they're doing," Soren hummed. "But that's what I expected." He _had_ hoped to get at least one volley off, but no use crying over it now. He turned to his right side. "Shinon," he commanded, "get the second round moving forward." The sniper nodded and hurried away; Soren turned his attention forward again, raising his voice. "Rhys! Maintain distance! Concentrate fire on the side towers! Take those ballista down!"

"Do we need to move this fast?" Ike said lowly. "I thought we'd save the second round for after they'd wasted more of their energy. That's how we've done this sort of thing in the past, right?"

"This isn't the past," Soren said darkly, glancing in Ike's direction. "You have to think from your enemy's perspective, Ike. Imagine you're in their position. You, me, and a dozen of the Greil's best, against an army of some unknown massive number in an abandoned castle. We can't win that with conventional tactics, we just don't have enough people. Right?"

"Sure," Ike replied, his brow knitting, "but - " 

"So you take risks," Soren continued. "You do things unconventionally because it'd be less likely to work in a standard battle, but it'll involve less sacrifice if it does work. You don't have the resources for sacrifice. Everything has to go perfectly."

"So," Ike said, "you're planning around the assumption that they're... what?"

"I'm sure they have a number of twists planned for us," hummed the Branded tactician, turning his eyes forward again, clasping his hands behind his back. He took a deep breath, taking in the scene, and then sighed it back out. He'd been told before that he only ever looked comfortable orchestrating a battle, but that was mostly because he was too busy focusing on it to complain. Comfort had nothing to do with it. "But there's one thing in particular I know they're going to do," Soren added, "and it means we can't assume they'll tire out. They know they can't risk it." 

"Okay, there's something you're not telling me," Ike huffed. "People can't just decide not to get tired." 

"Ike," Soren hummed. "Have you ever wondered, if you can heal mortal wounds and revive people with staves, why they never tried to make one that would just get rid of fatigue?"

 

The enemy fliers advanced next; it may have seemed a strange tactic to fly directly into a wall of waiting archers, but Lachesis had expected this too, as a way to give cover to their ground casters. Pegasus knights with lances aren't about to break open a wall. Mages with Elfire are the real problem. 

As Team Novis' Bolting strikes crisscrossed the sky in deafening chaos, Lachesis and the other archers continued to focus their shots on the artillery casters at the front of the line, picking off as many as they could. They couldn't outpace their spellcasts, but they could thin out their numbers enough that it would take a great deal of time to erode the wall enough to become a problem. 

And just in time, as well. The pegasi far outnumbered them, several dozen at least, and only so many could flock around the walls at once but they still demanded attention once they closed in; Camilla and Beruka were protecting Team Novis, while Lachesis shouted an order across the wall to switch targets so that the archers could defend themselves. Selena, and likely Effie as well, switched back to their melee weapons. Lachesis for her part switched to an Excalibur tome. She'd been partial to magic for dealing with air corps for a long time.

Since Silesse, if memory served. But that'd have to wait.

Sharp clanging sounds around the wall alerted her to a new form of attack - one she hadn't specifically thought of, but certainly made sense. The castle's walls weren't very high. All you needed to scale them were a few siege ladders. Against larger defensive forces ladders were death traps, because they could easily be cut free of the wall or destroyed via magic. But they weren't a large defensive force. This was a good choice. Lachesis had prepared for it, too - they had barrels of hot tar ready! - but as the ladders were hoisted into place, banging against the battlements in an unholy rhythm, they were still all but choked by pegasi... 

She had hoped not to need this so early, but... 

"CELICA!" Lachesis shouted, at the top of her lungs. It was impossible to find her mage-captain through the chaos. "CELICA, WE NEED - "

She heard a righteous scream of fury and a violent explosion - a section of wall burst into towering flames and roiling dark smoke, the wall trembling under the sudden force of it, and all at once the pegasi scattered - Lachesis caught sight of burning wings in some places, and smiled with a morbid relief. Pegasi were very resistant to magical fire. Not so much to _tar fire._ With the south side of the wall clear she could now see Celica turning her attention to the north side, brandishing heavily bandaged arms as she roared out another Ragnarok cast, exchanging several of their tar barrels for a moment's peace. Celica whirled back, searching for Lachesis, and Lachesis thrust her bow high to signal her triumph.

"Ladders!" she shrieked. "Tar and fire and blades!" It wasn't much of a signal, but she wouldn't get to be much more specific than that. Hopefully they figured it out. Celica, for her part, nodded and turned to yell to Sheena.

"This already feels like we're barely hanging on," Selena grumbled, fussily rolling one of the barrels over to the nearest ladder. "How long is this going to take, again?"

 

"That's definitely not good," Ike said incredulously. 

Soren sighed heavily, lowering his head and pinching the bridge of his nose, trying silently to shut out the noise for a moment. He had expected, of course, the fire mage to still be here. And he'd expected the standard sorts of anti-scaling defenses, which would include hot oil. Somehow, he had completely neglected the possibility that they'd put the two things together. 

Well, thinking about it, he'd learned something valuable; most fire spells are essentially projectiles that happen to be on fire, but that spell - whatever it was - it invoked a sudden and violent combustion. You couldn't do what she'd done with a standard spell at all. He could work around this new knowledge. 

"How is she casting without a tome?" Titania said slowly. "Soren, did you see that? She's not using any kind of catalyst." 

"There's a catalyst," Soren sighed, looking back up with his arms folded. "Magic doesn't work without one. There's always a catalyst." He gestured towards the secondary ballista line, which was now preparing to fire ahead of them. "It doesn't matter anyway," he added, "we're still on schedule. _Shinon! Target the ballista! They'll counterfire and we can't afford that! Elincia can't get close until they're taken down!_ "

"There's no side entrance?" Ike asked, over Soren's shoulder. 

"They've sealed it off with boulders," Titania replied, a touch of humor in her voice. "Plural, boulders. Really didn't like what we did last time." 

"They have no reason to maintain a side entrance," Soren muttered. "They can already retreat through the gate. Ike, can you make sure the third line is ready to go? We can't let up pressure, so we can't afford to lose any time."

"What's your plan if they take out the third line?" Titania asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"I thought I'd already gone over this," Soren sighed. "We're the fourth line." 

 

Lachesis looked up to see the ballistae at a moment that should've been too late. 

"SECOND LINE, PRIMED," Shinon was shouting. He had a large voice when he wanted to. Soren had been watching him, keenly, but turned his eyes to the wall. He saw Celica blast a ladder to pieces. He saw Mae channel lightning through another. Everyone preoccupied. Except one person. 

"Wait!" Lachesis shouted, in a sudden panic. "Ballistae! Celica, there's another line of - " 

Celica whirled around, horrified. "They're too far!" she cried. 

"No they're not!" Lachesis snarled, looking back to Camilla - " _Camilla, ladders!_ " - and then again to Team Novis. "Meteor spells, ready!" 

"What are you doing?" Soren whispered. "It's too late now, you should be taking cover..." 

Lachesis sprinted to the center of the wall; in two huge leaps she jumped up the crenellations, because she needed height to be sure she could see her target - 

"SECOND LINE, READY," Shinon shouted, and through all the massive crowd Lachesis head him - and then saw him. She reached behind her back, grasping first her Mend staff - but that wasn't the one she wanted. She had three staves, and she needed the second one. With a great flourish she raised it high: 

" _SILENCE!_ "

"No," Soren gasped. "No! No, no, no!" Shinon tried to give the order to fire - but his voice was gone. He hadn't realized what had happened. Ike stormed past Soren - Soren tried to grab at him, but Ike was too large and too fast, and in most situations what Ike was about to do next would be right - he had to get close enough to take over, and he'd only need a few more seconds to get there, but the mages had already switched focus, the spells were already coming out - "Rhys," Soren shouted, "I need a Barrier on the - " He couldn't cover all the ballista at once - "Barrier on Ike," he corrected, "right now! Barrier on Ike!" 

Four Meteor spells crashed down on the ballista at the front and center - Ike hadn't reached them yet, so even though Rhys' Barrier was late, he was too far back to be injured, much to Soren's relief. But the ballista line was in chaos. Some of them fired, some of them tried to re-aim towards the mages. Others desperately tried to unpack and back away. They didn't do any lasting damage before the Meteor barrage destroyed the entire line. From where he was standing, Soren couldn't see Shinon. 

Titania was shouting for Mist and Rhys to find him. Ike was backpedaling from the burning mess, his hand to his forehead; Soren could recognize the stumbling shock with ease. It wasn't easy to surprise the leader of the Greil Mercenaries, but Soren knew well what it looked like when you did. He probably didn't know what to do next. He might even feel a little anxiety. But he'd turn around and come back to Soren, and Soren would be the one that needed to have a plan. He could handle that. 

But just for a moment he had to admit, the Order had kind of impressed him. 

 

There was a third line of ballista, too. But they'd bought enough time that Camilla could see it coming. She warned Team Novis. Team Novis destroyed them before they could arm. Twelve Meteor tomes burned. They only had a few left. 

They were low on Boltings, too. Another round of fliers could potentially clear the wall. They'd have Excaliburs and more arrows, but not enough to stop a full unit of pegasi. The barrier-protected mage units were replenishing from the back line. Lachesis' defenders were losing steam. Embla's attackers were not. They knew that. More and more of the defenders were forced to switch to melee weapons, as more ladders came up than they could reasonably burn or destroy, and as the walls began to crawl with Emblian soldiers. By sundown, it was clear they couldn't hold the passage down into the barracks forever. 

This wasn't what Lachesis had expected. She'd expected to hold the wall until they could destroy the gate, then to destroy the gate with the vats of oil from the barracks above; then, from there, they could destroy the wall as well and leave the enemy with no way in. 

But like this, if the enemy just... took the wall, they'd be trapped - forced to either just concede the gate, or retreat into the barracks with no way out. One way would be certain defeat, and the other would grant the enemy so much ground that it might as well be the same. Lachesis' original plan would hardly have worked anyway - she didn't realize just how many pegasus knights she'd be up against, and simply destroying the walkway along the wall wouldn't be enough to keep them from getting over it.

She tried to take in the state of the wall. She heard Celica roaring, somewhere to the south, and saw another explosion of fire and light to match, a new tower of flame billowing up from the wall - the pegasi around Team Novis were forced to scatter, unable to fly through the smoke - 

Smoke - ?

She whirled again - surrounding the ballista, they still had barrels and barrels of tar lined up, they just hadn't had the chance to use them all - 

A plan rapidly assembled in her mind; it would cost her both of her Rewarp staves, certainly, and she had to hope Genny had a Rescue on her - but they didn't have much more time, and if it really did work the way she hoped it would then just maybe they could buy themselves more time! 

"Klein!" she yelled, managing to shove her way through to him - Selena, beside him, cut down two more axemen as Lachesis cut free a ladder's anchor and sent it back to the ground below. Klein brushed his hair out of his face, panting. His quiver was nearly empty. "Klein," she hissed, "if I can clear the path for you, can you and Selena roll all of this tar into the barracks?"

"What?" Selena stared at her agape. "What for?"

"Yes," Klein said firmly. 

Lachesis turned around, slinging her bow over her shoulder and drawing up her Excalibur tome. There were a few attackers still crawling up the wall between them and the entrance to the gate house, but it took only two quick casts to disable them and their ladders. "Leave some along the wall, don't push them all in!" She turned back, but they'd both already started guiding the whole stack together down the wall, Selena in front with Klein pushing them all from behind. Lachesis sidestepped them and took out her third staff, Warping to Celica. 

Celica jumped, startled, when she turned to see Lachesis' apparition. "Oh, Lachesis - ?"

"Can you use Rewarp?" she asked, gravely. Celica hesitated, then shook her head.

"Probably best not to push it unless you absolutely need it," she said swiftly, and Lachesis nodded gratefully. Honesty was good here. "Genny can," she added, and Lachesis nodded again; at her mention Genny turned, wide-eyed. 

"I need you and Celica inside the barracks as fast as possible," Lachesis explained, "but first, Genny, you've got to get everyone else off the wall and into the keep with Rewarp. If we try to run for the stairs they're going to take the wall." 

"We're giving up the gate?" Celica said numbly. Lachesis shook her head fiercely. 

"Just hurry," she cried. "Start with Novis, tell the wyvern riders to move, then get Klein's side and then Sheena's, okay?" She watched Genny mouth the names in time with Lachesis' words, and the girl nodded confirmation and dashed over to Mae to get her attention. Lachesis turned back to Celica. "Trust me?"

"Absolutely," Celica said firmly. "Meet you there." 

Lachesis nodded, and warped away again to Sheena's side, giving her and Gordin the same instructions; when she turned to clear the way to the barracks, though, Celica had already blasted the wall clear with her own spells, before sprinting inside with Genny just behind her. Beruka and Camilla were positioning to keep the enemy from interfering. Satisfied with that, she warped into the barracks - finding almost not enough space to stand with all the barrels. 

"What is going on?!" Genny gasped, trying to pick her way over to Lachesis; Lachesis positioned herself around a few, preparing her staff again.

"We have to warp these to the side walls," she explained. "They need to be spread evenly along the whole wall. If the enemy's nearby, just break them open to make sure they don't get interfered with. I've got the south wall - "

"Wait, no, no, no," Celica gasped, trying to reach out to Genny as Genny scurried over to a cluster of barrels. "Genny's not strong enough to move these," she protested. "Genny, I'll do it - "

"No," Genny snapped, brandishing her staff. "I've got this!" 

"I trust you, Genny," Lachesis promised, before warping herself away. 

She and Genny warped to their respective walls and back again, bringing barrels of tar away with them each time and spreading them out over the walls evenly. Lachesis burned herself more than once. The barrels themselves were enchanted to maintain temperature, ensuring the tar inside was scorching hot and ready to burn at any moment; they weren't meant to be handled quite so roughly, but Lachesis didn't have much time. 

Soon Camilla and Beruka were forced to give up the wall; when they had about half cleared out the room Celica barred it off, rolling extras in front of the door, trapping herself inside. She was pacing back and forth frantically every time Lachesis saw her, forced to listen as the enemy tried to bash away the one barrier between her and the entire host of enemy soldiers. Lachesis tried her best to work faster, and it might've been her imagination, but she thought Genny picked up the pace, too. 

It didn't take long, maybe a few minutes, to finally ensure the walls were sufficiently primed; when she returned to the barracks for the last time, Celica was preparing to cast something at the door. "We're done," Lachesis said sharply, "Genny - Genny, do you have Rescue?" The girl nodded feebly, scurrying over to hand it to Lachesis; Lachesis gently ruffled her hair. "Get to the keep," she whispered. "You've done amazing." Genny nodded, visibly relieved, and warped herself away. Lachesis couldn't guess how many uses were left in that staff, but it couldn't have been many. It was amazing it had lasted this many uses as it was.

"You need me to light the fuse, don't you," Celica whispered, as Lachesis turned back to her. 

"I don't have a fire tome," Lachesis laughed weakly, raising her arms - she had two swords, two tomes, and three staves, all jostling around on her constantly as she moved. "I can't carry any more." 

"That's fine." Celica sighed deeply, then took in a long breath, steeling herself. "You can't warp me out with you, right?"

"I've got Genny's rescue," Lachesis promised. "I'm going to go up there and count to five. You light the fuse before then, and we'll be good." 

"Okay." Celica smiled shakily. "You know, when we hid all that powder in the walls, I thought something like this might happen. I thought I'd try to be ready for it, but now..." 

The next impact against the door came with a horrific splintering sound; Celica jumped, and Lachesis turned briefly to see it cracking away from its hinges. "Okay, I'm going," Lachesis gasped. "Hurry!" Celica nodded; Lachesis warped herself away. Her staff disintegrated in her fingers as she arrived.

She dashed out to the balcony - everyone else was already there, Klein and Gordin priming the ballistae on the guard towers, Selena, Sheena and Effie preparing their bows, just in case - but Lachesis' eyes were fixed on the center section of the outer wall. The wall itself was crawling with soldiers, preparing bows to fire on the keep, but they wouldn't get a chance to fire. Lachesis sprinted to the parapet and raised her Rescue staff high. This was not a staff you were supposed to use blind, but she couldn't afford to do things by the book just then. Devoid of a clear line of sight to Celica's position she'd have to settle for an educated guess, and a clear mental image of Celica - of that little smile in the library, when she'd first brought the mage dinner - 

A ripping sound of air splitting erupted beside her; Lachesis reached for her blade to be safe, but it was indeed Celica who appeared from the shimmering light beside her, collapsing onto her knees and gasping with shock and relief. Lachesis opened her mouth to speak, but at that very moment, the wall detonated.

 

It had been Celica's idea to use hot tar to pour through the gatehouse even if it were to be opened, if they had some kind of a duct to pour it through. It was dishonorable, sure, but Lachesis had had enough sacrifice for the sake of honor for many lifetimes over. So she'd taken things a step further. 

It turned out that when they Askr for tar in their provisions, Askr suggested something else to go with it. Something much more effective. A terrible substance Lachesis had not heard of before, called black powder. 

They didn't have enough of it to destroy the wall entirely, and frankly, all the better. There was enough to cave in the gate, and enough to shatter the walkway and the entire upper section of the wall; with the sudden ignition the barrels and spills of tar burst into flame, too, and in the blink of an eye the entire outer wall was suddenly topped with a roiling coil of blazing fire, billowing black smoke into the sky. Lachesis couldn't watch it after that - she jumped, shaking, and turned away. 

But looking away didn't stop the sounds. The sunset was filled with panicked cries and screams of soldiers trying to escape the blaze, or those unlucky enough to have been disabled or trapped in it. Lachesis had expected it to be gruesome, but...

"By the gods," Celica whispered, beside her. Lachesis winced. "That's... horrible."

"May Embla learn not to provoke us again," Lachesis said quietly, her voice trembling. She felt Celica's hand on her shoulder and looked up - she felt pale, and Celica looked worried - but she didn't say anything, just guided Lachesis away from the wall.

 

Outside, the Greil Mercenaries stared upward at the blaze in shock. Only Ike moved, sprinting towards the front of the line; Soren didn't process it for several moments. 

"Who are these people?" Titania whispered in horror beside him. 

"Call it off," Soren said faintly.

"What?"

He shook his head. He couldn't call it off. It would take more than this to defeat him. "I meant to order everyone to stand down," he growled, turning away from the fire, pacing in its demonic halo. Titania watched him with distinct worry. "We're going to have to break through the gate or the wall somehow, they can hold from the air with the fire acting as a smokescreen like this. We have to regroup."

"They're stalling," Titania breathed, turning back to the blaze again. "That's what this is."

"I was hoping they wouldn't be this clever," Soren admitted darkly. "But now you see what we're up against." 

"I'm going to contact Veronica," Titania said sharply, in the voice she used when she would not be told no. Ike wasn't here anyway, so Soren just bowed his head in agreement. 

"I wonder what she'll have to say," Soren said softly. "Perhaps her 'secret weapon' will be ready soon."


	10. Chapter 10

_Jun 6_

"Ma'am." 

Lachesis wasn't surprised this time - she'd been hoping to hear Kagero's voice, and when she turned to face its source she smiled with relief to show it. Kagero smiled faintly back. Lachesis had noted how composed and pristine the ninja always looked for their meetings, but today, it was clear Kagero had been very busy - her uniform lightly torn in places, sometimes showing shallow scratches, the long bangs covering half her face a bit frayed and haphazard. She seemed a little short of breath, too. 

"As you can see," Lachesis said softly, gesturing out towards the remains of the outer wall, "we've held so far."

Kagero approached the balcony parapet with slow, quiet steps; Lachesis noted that she didn't place her hands on the battlement, but rather kept them braced against the hilts of her knives on her hips. Ever ready, this one, and Lachesis appreciated that very much. They looked out towards the wall together - flames burning low now, the smoke obscuring what might have been an early morning sunrise if the sky behind it could be trusted. Their gambit had bought them an entire night's rest, a very precious commodity - though of course, Klein and Sheena were still awake at the ballista towers behind her, keeping watch, and she herself hadn't a wink of sleep either. There was no point when she could hear the fire everywhere she went. 

"I can't see the enemy through the smoke," Kagero observed quietly. "Which is to your advantage, for now - they also can't see you - but it does make my report to Kiran harder." 

"We've scarcely dented the enemy's numbers," Lachesis intoned. "They fielded more siege weapons and more diverse attackers against us than before, but seemed unprepared for our level of martial talent. When they overran the wall, well..." She glanced back to it. 

"Have you taken any casualties?" Kagero asked. 

"No." 

"That's good, then." She took a deep breath. "The siege at Rigel is progressing, but still far from complete. Kiran has been cycling fighters in so we can rest, but come sunrise she intends to order an all-out final attack. No stopping until we are either repelled, or break Veronica's control of the World of Shadows - and from there, we'll come here."

"How long do you think it will take?" Lachesis murmured. Kagero sighed. 

"I don't know," Kagero admitted. "Their defenders are powerful and valiant. Just like you."

"Guess." 

"A day? Maybe two?"

Lachesis nodded slowly. She regarded the wall, silently taking stock of their defenses, trying to imagine in her mind how the next phase of this plan would work. 

"We can manage that long," she said softly. 

"Very well. I wish you the best of luck." Kagero turned to leave. 

"You seem like you could use some rest," Lachesis added softly. "We have a little time." 

"That's kind of you," Kagero said, without looking back. "But ninja can't falter for just a little exertion. I'll be fine, ma'am." 

 

She was left alone after that. Alone, except the distant crackling roar of the wall, still burning after an entire night. She wondered what exactly was still burning - tar of course could be heated quite a bit without beginning to evaporate, but she didn't know how it functioned as an actual fuel for fire. Were there wooden supports in the walls burning, too? 

She heard voices, in the crackling of the flames, in the air whipping through the plumes of smoke. Sometimes screaming, sometimes pleading, or sobbing. It had taken her some time of pacing frantically around the wall searching for their source to confirm to herself, beyond all doubt, that she was imagining them - but they didn't go away, and continued to sound very horribly real. She wondered if this was simply what fire sounded like. Like suffering. Perhaps that was it. Either way, it stole away any hope she had of meaningful rest, so she'd stayed here to watch over the ruined, collapsed walls instead.

She tried to review the plan. They'd talked about this extensively, after all - what else were they supposed to do with their two weeks of quiet? But she just couldn't focus. Something about how to handle... fliers. The smoke was supposed to stop them, but they could put the fire out eventually, and after that it'd be much easier to pressure them from the air than from the ground. But they weren't going to just file in through a single opening, right? That would clearly be suicide even without the smoke... 

No, she could feel her attention slipping. She was shaking now, too. She sighed heavily, folding her arms on the battlement in front of her and lowering her face between them, trying to breathe steadily, to shut out the crackling and then wind, but that made the distant phantom voices sound only louder... 

"Lachesis?" 

Ah, Lachesis could've cried, for a moment there. She didn't know how really to answer Celica's voice, so she didn't, and soon Celica joined her at the wall, a hand delicately resting on her shoulder again; from there Lachesis turned to look partway up at her, smiling hollowly. 

"How was your rest?" 

"I could barely sleep," Celica laughed softly. "It looks like you had trouble, too. Genny was so exhausted she passed out right away, and Mae and Boey fell asleep eventually, so they're doing alright..."

"That's good," Lachesis murmured, closing her eyes and sighing. Celica rubbed her back. It made it easier to breathe slow. "They're going to need their strength." 

"So are you," Celica said seriously. Lachesis huffed. 

"So are you," she mumbled. When she opened her eyes again, Celica was smiling coyly. "Do you want a Mend?"

And like that her smile was gone. "Oh," she whispered. "I suppose - that would be the right thing to do at a time like this, wouldn't it?" Lachesis nodded slowly, as Celica bit her lip. "Alright," she sighed. "I... assume you're going to want one, too."

"I'll need it," Lachesis agreed. She pushed herself upright slowly, taking the Mend staff from her belt as Celica knelt before her. 

Staves, particularly curing staves, had miraculous abilities. There was of course Valkyrie, the staff of Bragi, which was said to be able to restore a person to life entirely; but even very basic staves like this Mend, or even a simple Heal, could repair shocking wounds. But anyone who intends to make frequent use of staves must understand exactly how they work, and that there is a difference between repairing, and healing. 

It's said that only the body can heal. It's a simple limitation of magic that you can't weave a spell that can restore a broken bone, for example. You can't restore lost blood. You can't revive a dead organ or tissues. There are a long list of things that are simply too complex for staves to perform; most of what they do, in reality, is weaving together flesh and muscle that's been torn open by some wound, and for almost all battlefield injuries that's enough to get someone back on their feet and fighting again. 

But the damage is still there, hidden beneath artificially repaired skin. Without exposure to the elements, it'll be less likely to get infected. It'll probably heal faster than it would untreated. But it's still damaged, and it still needs time to heal. You can't replace the body's own repair process with a staff. 

The same principle applied to fatigue. Lachesis had been told that nearly all budding clerics ask, at some point, why you can't just use a Restore staff to keep yourself from getting tired. And, in a way, you can. A healing or restore staff can be used to remove the _symptoms_ of fatigue - the aches in your muscles, the sweat on your brow - but it won't undo the strain that you've put on your system. When one is blind to the stress their body has endured, one runs a far greater risk of reaching their breaking point.

But she'd just have to trust Celica to know. 

Once she was finished, Celica hopped up to her feet, sighing briskly and accepting the staff from Lachesis, and they traded places. It felt deceptively nice, Lachesis noted. You certainly wouldn't be able to tell that you were still tired. The staff left her feeling as though she'd gotten not only a good night's sleep, but perhaps the best rest she'd ever had - it restored a feeling of youth that she hadn't felt since... since well before Eldigan, perhaps. But that was so terribly dangerous to feel, she knew. Because she wasn't that young. She wasn't that strong. She had the same body as before, and if she overused it, it would certainly fall apart on her. 

"I wish it worked as well as it felt like," Celica sighed, as Lachesis rose to her feet and accepted the staff back. "I almost feel like my depression is gone."

"Wouldn't that be nice," Lachesis muttered, dismayed. Celica smiled faintly. 

"Nevertheless," the mage said softly, "we remain maidens in mutual distress. Yes?" And Lachesis had to smile, too.

"Yes," she whispered, kissing her gently. "Wake up the others. Make sure everyone's had something to eat, but make it fast. Embla could attack at any moment."

"Yes, ma'am." Celica bowed, a hand over her heart - 

"Your arms," Lachesis gasped. "They're bandaged." She remembered from last night, too, Celica's arms had been wrapped in bandages, nearly to the elbow. But Celica didn't respond to this; she nodded faintly and continued inside. 

 

Veronica didn't come back with Titania - only her retainer, Xander, did. He seemed just as disgruntled about it as everyone else was surprised, and Soren took a sort of dark satisfaction in that, as he did in pretty much anyone being annoyed by anything. It was validating to have other people upset about things, he supposed. 

"All in all," he concluded, setting the core of his finished apple aside, "we made good progress yesterday, but the defenders have proven more tenacious than expected already, and will probably only become more and more threatening now that their backs are against the wall."

"I see," Xander said dourly. "And your plan for the attack?"

"Ike," Soren said, glancing to his side. "Map." Ike nodded, rolling out their haphazard drawing from late the night before onto the table; Soren stood with a long sigh, one arm behind his back as he gestured with the other. "It's a difficult situation," he began, his voice cold, "and it asks a lot of Embla's army, not to mention Crimea's. We came prepared for a lot of things, but the Order has already surprised us once. They will surely continue to do so."

"I understand that," Xander said curtly, "however, the Princess has come to see you as someone who will get her what she wants, and I would advise against letting her down."

A twinge of a smile curled the corner of Soren's lips. "I have no intention of disappointing her." He cleared his throat and traced along the outer wall with his index finger. "The outer wall is not only blocked off by fire, but the cover they would've provided us has been essentially ruined. We're low on Barrier staves after the first day, and even if we weren't, they have a second pair of ballistae and seemingly plenty of arrows left to pierce them. Furthermore, to reach the courtyard with ground troops, we'll need to breach the wall somewhere, which we only have _time_ to do in one place."

Xander frowned, his brow creased. "What have you been doing all this -"

"A number of things," Soren growled. "Including preparing for the breach. Let me finish." He tapped the front gate. "We intended to breach through the gate at first, but the walkspace has been drenched in burning tar, so that's definitely not an option. That means we have to break through a section of solid wall, which is considerably more difficult. Our mages have been working at it since well before dawn, and I've been told it'll take another couple hours still. But we're not going to wait for them." 

With two fingers splayed he tapped the two flanking watchtowers of the keep. "Their ballistae are positioned here, on these walls," he continued. "Between these, their archers, and their mages - particularly their fire mage - it's difficult to defend a ground force sufficiently to expect them to survive the entry. We have to narrow their options. So, we'll extinguish fires on the wall at various points." He tapped them - one at the center of the north wall and another at the center of the south, then one on each side of the gate. "They'll create openings in the smokescreen our fliers can manuever through, and with enough of them, we can attack from enough angles to introduce some chaos and force their attention.

"The defenders are clever, however, and have shown a clear ability to prioritize threats. If they realize they're being breached by foot, the mages and the ballista are going to target those ground troops. We have enough Barriers to shield an initial entry team, but that won't stop a ballista bolt, so we'll disable the ballistae first."

"How?" Xander said slowly. Soren smiled. 

 

Lachesis was ready when the fires began to go out. She could tell they weren't fading away naturally - wind mages were extinguishing them at regular intervals along the wall, creating openings in the smoke. She ordered her defenders to focus their attention on one at a time, spreading them evenly between the four cold spots. When the pegasi and wyverns poured in, they were met with arrows and Bolting, crowding them out of the sky around the keep itself. Lachesis noticed that there was a woman in considerably more regal armor than the others, hovering near the gate, and that injured knights would fly to her for healing. 

Their eyes met more than once, and her fingers drifted more than once to Silence's shaft. It only had a few casts available, and she didn't want to use them early. The enemy knew she had it, now. They could be trying to bait her. 

As she was watching, though, the woman glanced behind her - through one of the openings in the smoke - then raised her staff high and shouted something; Lachesis thought she was invoking some effect of the staff and scrambled one of the Restores they'd found, but instead the pegasi began to fly back from the castle walls. She'd - ordered a retreat? 

"Something's coming," she called, her eyes darting around the courtyard skyspace - in a moment of panic she checked the courtyard grounds, but obviously the wall was still blocking all entry by foot - 

" _Lachesis!_ " 

She looked up again just in time to see a massive stone slam into the south guard tower - Klein staggered back from the ballista, but the tower under him was falling apart - she snatched up a Rescue staff and pointed it at him, teleporting him to her side as the tower crumbled to the ground with a deafening crash; she whirled around to check the north tower, the staff raised pre-emptively, and snatched Gordin away fromm a second boulder that crushed the ballista itself, and likely would have rolled onto him as well. 

"O-oh," Gordin gasped, slumping to his knees. "I thought I was - ohh." 

"Catapults," Klein whispered in horror. "How did they - ?" 

They didn't have time to talk about it - the pegasi swarmed back in now; without the ballista to threaten them at range, they were forced to adopt a tight ring formation around the ruined balcony with their mages at the center, who switched back to close-range magic. With the towers - or what was left of them - creating three distinct choke points, they could hold this position effectively, but there seemed to be no end to the pegasi anymore and their attention had been taken away from the courtyard entirely. 

But then - something rushed past Lachesis, something from within their circle; she whirled around in a shock only to realize there was a small crowd of them - swirling silvery spirits, branding lances and halberds, swarming through their defensive line and charging directly into the pegasi, pushing them back! At the center of their circle Genny clutched her staff before her with her eyes tightly closed, breathing intently, knuckles white and sweat pouring from her brow - 

"Genny!" Lachesis cried, split between fright and awe. Invoke. This was Invoke. Genny had showed her once before - an immense power, with an immense cost. Mae and Boey were beside her, casting from behind the new infantry line; she chose to trust their judgment that this wasn't too much for the little cleric, and instead turned her attention back to the retreating sky knights, brandishing Miracle in one hand and her other dropping to the hilt of the Earth Sword. 

She lunged into the chaos in a frenzy, catching lances on the blade of the Earth Sword and pulling herself into intimate range of their wielders and mounts, thrusting Miracle nearly hilt-deep into anything that dared to strike at her. Behind her she heard Effie roar, plowing through them like a strongman would plow through a snowdrift. Together they cleared the forward balcony, forcing the knights to retreat, scattered and bloodied. 

In that same moment, though, another rider cut through the air in the wake of her comrades - Effie yelped and shoved Lachesis aside, catching the knight's lance on her shield, but her pegasus flipped bodily over Effie and landed on the ground, separating them from the others. On instinct, Lachesis turned around - sure enough, another rider was now hovering above the parapet, pinning them. 

But not just any rider. She bore a thin, leaf-bladed sword in one hand and a well-worn staff in the other, long green hair and a steely expression worn over youthful amber eyes, now glaring through Lachesis imperiously. Lachesis raised her sword to match the rider's. 

"You've proven a dangerous enemy indeed," the woman said, her voice quivering with anger. "But the bloodshed ends here." 

"If only," Lachesis replied coldly.

She swept forward, intending to close distance in the woman and strike her mount if not her - but the pegasus pranced back and reared on its hooves, clearly meaning to strike Lachesis with its front legs; she was forced to back away hastily as the woman charged her, Effie blocking the other rider's attacks just behind - an arrow whizzed by the three of them and the green-haired woman had to hastily adjust her momentum to avoid it, putting her off balance enough that Lachesis could sweep in again and force her back off of the wall. 

And now, as she tried for another approach, Camilla dropped from above - her wyvern landing with an earth-shaking crash in between them and snarling hungrily at the rider, as Camilla twirled her greataxe in both hands and brandished it menacingly. 

"What do you say we take this somewhere a bit more open?" the princess crooned, smiling coyly. She didn't wait for an answer before lunging forward again. Lachesis wondered if that was supposed to be threatening or not, and found herself rather disconcerted either way. 

But now, with the way clear, Lachesis could see the gate - or, what was left of it - and she could see the fire and the smoke still issuing from the wall. Except in a wide section above the gate, the fire was gone. The smoke was gone. And a dark-haired boy in robes stood atop the ruin, watching the fight. She'd seen him before. And since the last time she'd seen him, she'd learned his name, too. 

But Soren didn't know Lachesis. He didn't really care to know her, either. He recognized her as the woman that had cast Silence on Shinon at a very critical moment, and for that she deserved his respect. A little of it, anyway. But that wouldn't afford her any mercy. 

"Open the wall," he ordered. "Before they recover any more momentum." 

"Stand back," Ilyana called, and Soren paced away from the breach site along the wall's cracked and jagged remains. They'd already weakened it enough; one particularly strong Thoron cast was all it took.

The lightning spell triggered a number of sudden fires deep within the wall's ruined foundations, creating a burst of light and reducing it to powder; a great cloud of dust rose up, soon lost within the smoke overhead, but it was a damning signal on its own. Lachesis didn't have the defenses to cover that breach and she knew it. 

This was the beginning of the end. 

 

Soren hopped lithely down the debris to return to Gatrie's armored formation, waiting just beyond the wall; Ilyana had stepped aside to stand on Ike's other side, as Soren returned to them both. 

"Advance," Soren ordered, sweeping his arm towards the courtyard; Gatrie nodded and shouted back to his company, thundering forward through the crumbled rock into the courtyard. Soren turned meanwhile to Ike. "Have the catapults been adjusted?"

"Yeah, they're ready." Ike glanced back at the one behind him, as though to be sure. "You really did take out those ballista towers blind. I know you've already proven yourself as the best tactician on Tellius ten times over, so how come you keep outdoing yourself?" 

"This is a battlefield," Soren growled, feeling his cheeks and ears burn, "this is not the time for compliments." Ike chuckled, folding his arms and stepping back. "Arm them, but wait for my mark to fire. I'm going to order Elincia to shift her attention to the courtyard now that we've breached it, and we'll use the catapults to force them out of cover."

"How long do you think they've got?" Ike asked, conversationally. Soren shrugged.

"That depends on how clever they are," he hummed. "But I wouldn't guess more than a few hours." 

"I hope I can eat before then," Ilyana mumbled.

"You can go eat now," Soren sighed angrily. Ilyana squeaked happily and scurried off. "I can't believe we brought her with us," he grumbled. 

"She did a great job," Ike hummed. "I'd say she pulled her weight."

"You would say that," Soren muttered as if it were an insult, turning away and walking back towards the wall. "You're too forgiving, and that's why everyone likes you so damn much." 

"Careful," Ike called after him; Soren could hear him smirking. "I might get an ego." Soren nonchalantly waved off his concern.

He returned to his position on top of what had once been the gate, watching faux-calmly as the battle progressed. War was never comfortable, but this was as close as he got; occasional spells would attempt to strike him, the woman from before even wasted a Silence cast on him once, which he found immensely satisfying, but his own magical resistance was much too high to be daunted by those things, and he was too far away for arrows to reach from the keep. 

In exchange for remaining careful enough not to get blasted by errant magic, he was treated to a very elegantly choreographed, by-the-numbers castle breach. First Gatrie set up a living barricade, allowing archers to file in and begin firing back on the keep; that pressure, combined with the catapults' free-firing barrage, forced the defenders to seek lower ground. By that time, Elincia's sky knights had landed, Gatrie's armor knights had advanced to the front of their line, Rolf and Shinon and the other archers were readying a first volley... they were even starting to move some large wooden platforms into place near the wall, to cover up some of the trenches the enemy had dug nearer the keep's gate. 

It was maybe the early afternoon - he glanced up, briefly studying the sky; couldn't have been much later than one - and they were already moments to surrender. All in all, a very tidy day two, given how much of a disaster day one had turned out to be. Elincia wouldn't be happy with the casualties - particularly in her aerial unit - but it could have gone a whole lot worse. 

"Hey." 

Soren's nose wrinkled. Usually, when Ike called for him, it was a good sound. This didn't sound like a good sound.

He hopped back down to ground level, approaching Ike with folded arms. "What? Did something happen?" 

"Well, sort of," Ike said slowly. "Veronica showed up. She says she's going to assume command." 

"Oh, to steal all the credit," Soren sighed. "Yeah, that's about right."

"It's worse than that," Ike said, his voice dropping. Behind him, Soren could see Veronica approaching through the ranks of their reserve troops now, looking rather pleased with herself. "She, uh - ah. I guess..." 

"Your highness," Soren said semi-graciously, bowing. Veronica's smile had grown some when he straightened. 

"You've done well," she said softly. "I'll take over from here." She turned to Ike. "My attendants have already described the situation to me. Order the archers to retreat and the armored unit to attack."

"Your highness," Ike said slowly, "the enemy should be strongly considering surrender right now - " 

"I don't care," Veronica interrupted. "That would be boring, and pathetic. They'd deserve to die, so you should kill them." 

Ike and Soren glanced at each other, equally lost for words. Ike cleared his throat and spoke first. "With all due respect," he said, more slowly and carefully still, "what I think Soren was staring to say is that we've already won, and that there's no point in drawing this out further."

Veronica hummed in a false agreement, and then sighed, as though disappointed. "Of course there is," she said softly. "I'm not content with merely _winning._ The Askrians must know fear. We will take our time, and we will make them afraid."

Ike and Soren exchanged glances again. "Um," Soren began, "what, exactly, do you - "

Then Veronica told him. She walked past him after that to take command, and he didn't stop her. 

"This is bad," he whispered, to Ike, eyes wide. Ike nodded faintly. They didn't seem to know what else to say.

 

With Camilla and Beruka preoccupied by the pegasus knight commander and her flight, Lachesis had no opportunity to try to stop the catapult fire. Their siege tomes didn't reach that far, and they couldn't send anyone out to them to try to disable or even harry them. So when they began firing freely on the keep, Lachesis knew she just needed to retreat. 

But that was a deadly concession, and she knew it. They needed the height advantage, they needed the walls under them. Without the fort it was just a small-teams skirmish on uneven, but otherwise open terrain, and they lost that almost without recourse. She was sure the others understood, as well: what was supposed to have been a heroic, well-coordinated last stand was being denied to them. 

Lachesis had thought yesterday that the longer they fought conventionally, the worse off they'd be. It seems that Soren had had the same idea. 

Against a mundane defender - a standard mercenary company, perhaps, or a band of brigands - such a barrage would be an immediate call to surrender, but Lachesis was more capable than that. She and Celica dropped to the courtyard floor with Excalibur spells to cushion their fall - an unconventional way of movement, and not so effective that she intended to start doing it everywhere, but as an emergency option it worked fine - before quickly Rescuing the others down along with them. Lachesis' borrowed Rescue staff broke midway through and Genny had to finish with a spare. 

"Sheena, Effie," Klein called, "take the front with Lachesis and, erm - "

"I've got a horse to grab," Selena hissed, as Camilla and Beruka landed beside them. "Camilla - "

"Hurry," Camilla said softly; Selena glanced at Lachesis, Lachesis nodded, and she sprinted off for the stables. Celica drew a long leaf-bladed sword of her own, closing her eyes for a moment as though to meditate. Boey and Mae huddled closer to the archers, preparing their tomes. 

"Gonna be tough," Effie grunted, planting her shield in the ground, stretching her legs. "How long you think we've got left before Kiran shows up, ma'am?" 

Lachesis' throat felt dry. She swallowed; it ached. "A few hours, one might guess," she managed to croak. 

"That's optimistic," Sheena hummed beside her, though a smile was in her voice. "That's why I like you." 

The pegasus knight commander landed ahead of them, as the armored unit that had first breached the wall halted their own advance. "Defenders of Askr," she called, her voice high. "I am Queen Elincia of Crimea." Lachesis blinked. That somehow felt very fitting. For someone so young, she was quite a... fierce queen, she thought. "I cannot forgive the Crimean lives you have taken today," she continued, "nor can I look past the occupation of our land, whatever your reason may be. For these reasons, I can offer you no quarter."

"As one whose homeland has endured countless undeserved hardships," Lachesis cried back, "my heart aches for thee, Queen Elincia. I would have you understand the justice of our motives, but as we stand here with swords drawn, one cannot help but feel that it will make no difference." 

Elincia hesitated. Her pegasus dug at the ground. The leader of the armored company took a deep breath. The tension was rising. "You may be right," she shouted back, at length. "I have no more words for you. Make peace with your gods." 

"One will wait until that is necessary," Lachesis replied, bowing faintly. "Sacrifice more of your lives to us, if you must. The Tiger of Nordion will not flinch." 

"Lachesis," Celica said quietly beside her, "this is going to get very messy, very fast."

"Unfortunately for them," Lachesis murmured, "messy fights are what I'm best at." 

"Don't get too far from us," Sheena cautioned. "As long as we stay close together we can still hold the gate. We're not done yet." 

Elincia reached out to the side, her sword pointed loosely at the armored company - and then she raised it high, and ordered their advance. The remaining pegasus knights in the courtyard became restless, preparing to take flight. 

"Here we go," Lachesis whispered - Miracle held before her, the Earth Sword readied behind her.

 

The pegasi rushed them first, breaking away as the armored knights met their line. Lachesis wove into their ranks first, seeking the staff users - any ordinary fighter should have been unable to break through an armored line like that without being impaled, but Lachesis was far from an ordinary fighter. She killed one cleric easily, and the other two panicked and hurried backwards; Lachesis meant to give chase, to ensure they were out of range, but Selena rode in from the side to cut them off from the armor knights with her bow already drawn, and Lachesis gladly allowed her to handle it. Realizing now that they were exposed to magic, the company's leader ordered them to scatter, but they were too late. Excalibur and Ragnarok together shredded their numbers. With lightning precision, they dismantled that unit and routed them. If only the whole battle were that simple. 

More mobile infantry followed after that, and not just a single unit but a mob, Embla's sheer numbers weaponized. Selena and Abel dashed back and forth trying to ensure that no one could find holes in their melee defense, protecting the casters as long as they could, and Genny manifested another small crowd of spiritual warriors to grant them additional space. It worked. But it worked because each of them were straining at the limits of their awareness and their physical endurance. Lachesis and Celica, in particular, fighting at the peak of their strength - despite their weakened states, despite their lack of rest. Sooner or later, their endurance would begin to break down, and when it did... 

But she couldn't afford to think about that. She had to fight. All she could do was fight, all that she could see was the fight, every heartbeat setting the pulse of her movements, every twitch of her arm a deadly slash or a calculated defense, each swift and lightning step a precise adjustment of her positioning. She couldn't afford to lose focus for even a moment. Miracle's powerful enchantments would keep her alive for a while - but it wouldn't stop the enemies from walking past her, she had to stop that herself. She focused her entire self on that one purpose.

She clashed more than once with a violet-haired myrmidon that was clearly trying to tear her attention away from her front-line defense. It made her smile a little - it was nice to be appreciated, particularly by your enemies - but she wouldn't give in. The girl tried to taunt her at first, clearly eager for a fight, but Lachesis ignored her, battered her aside, threatened her with magic just the same as her blade, and refocused on the task at hand. Then the girl started to get irritated. And then a little frantic. 

Overhead, Camilla clashed with the Queen, stopping her from finding favorable positioning on the defenders' vulnerable flanks. On her sides, Sheena and Effie were sturdy, impenetrable walls, staunchly unmoving, allowing Lachesis to act as the arm of their wrath. As their enemy tried to find solace in the trenches Mae and Boey caught them with lightning and fire at range. And just behind her, she heard often the crescendo of Celica's voice, blasts of wind and lightning clearing away groups of enemies too far for Lachesis to reach. 

Though she wondered - if with a vague sense of relief - why wasn't she using Ragnarok...? 

The sun sank behind the castle. Its shadow grew long, stretching over the courtyard, reaching out across the wall's remains. Lachesis caught sight of Genny, clutching her side, healing Effie from safe a distance via Physic. Effie didn't look too badly hurt through her armor - it was fatigue, Genny was trying to clear their fatigue. She knew they couldn't stand to falter here, and she knew what she needed to do. But even so, that only brought the danger of this situation to the front of Lachesis' mind. They had lasted long and slain many - by now, the enemy should be running short of fresh bodies to throw at them, but... there was no sign of this ending. They could 'heal' away their exhaustion for a time, yes, but the strain on Lachesis' body was already surely very dangerous, and if this drew on much longer, things may start to break. 

There was a limit on how long they could last, but like this, they were completely blind to it. They'd fight their hardest until, all at once, they couldn't anymore. 

 

"I can't believe this," Ike breathed, shaking his head slowly. He'd joined Soren atop the gate arch, watching the battle proceed for the whole afternoon and, now, the better part of the evening. Sunset was approaching fast. "Soren," he said quietly, "this - I don't know how much longer I can watch this." 

It was horrific to watch, Soren agreed with that. "We can't disobey Veronica," he said quietly. "In this situation, it's best we keep our heads down and follow instructions. I know how you feel, Ike, but I don't think there's anything we can do." 

Horrific to watch, yes, because Elincia should not have had to sacrifice so many for a mere thirteen defenders. She'd retreated once, crying at the limits of her composure. The entire flightwing Marcia had brought with her was decimated - only a handful of their knights remained, Marcia herself even seemed to be in shock - and when Veronica had ordered her to return to the front line... Soren had not seen her so livid before. And yet, she was just as powerless as they were. 

Horrific because the battle should have been over. Had it still been under Soren's command, they'd have pushed in with armor and cavalry, volleys of archers disrupting their attempt at a defensive formation - even with that stunt the woman at the front had pulled that had torn Gatrie's unit apart, she wouldn't have the firepower to maintain it, and she'd have been surrounded and captured - or destroyed, if need be - within minutes. Now, hours later, powerless to give the commands that would end this cleanly, Soren had watched countless Emblian and Crimean rank-and-file solders run forward into the defenders' rage and be annihilated. Before Veronica arrived, they'd lost maybe a dozen pegasus knights, just creating enough pressure to force them off of the upper balcony. The losses now had to be triple digits. 

Horrific because Veronica didn't seem to care. Because she didn't seem to need to worry about it. Because the infantry pouring from that bizarre rip in the world's fabric was not stopping. 

Horrific because the defenders - who had created a massacre just to try to spare themselves and to defend their cause, who had done right by their own honor just the same as he and Ike would have done in their position - they didn't deserve this. No one deserved this. Battles were supposed to be decided by preparation, tactical advantage, and personal combat prowess. Not by waiting to see if your numbers outlast their endurance. 

"It's a terror tactic," Soren said quietly. "Like she said before, all she cares about is scaring the Order. If she wanted to be inside Askr, she could've been hours ago. She's..."

"It's almost like she's taunting them," Ike murmured. "Giving them a chance to feel like they can win." 

"They can't," Soren protested, "that woman - she has to know they can't. Do you see their cleric in the back? Healing everyone, even though their casters haven't been seriously hurt? I told you they'd resort to it, but after they found a way not to Veronica's forcing them. They're just going to collapse. After everything they've done Veronica wants to break them." 

"Heroes. Something to say?" 

Soren jumped, whirling around, briefly upsetting his balance. Xander was standing on the grass behind them, and Veronica approaching to stand at his side as well. And behind them was... 

"I-I was commenting," Soren said stiffly, refusing to lose face no matter how menacing they were, "on the... _inefficiency..._ of the princess' course of action. It's clear that this battle is won, but we could have been inside the gate already if that was what she wanted." 

"It's not," Veronica said quietly. "This is what I want. You'll do it, because you belong to me." 

Soren couldn't say anything to that. 

"It's time," she added airily, gestring to the man towering behind her. "If you've been waiting for this battle to end, then rejoice. The end is at hand." 

 

The fighting slowed. Lachesis danced back from her engagement as her enemies began to back away from her in turn. A reverent, frightened hush was spreading over the opposing forces. Something was coming. She hurried back into her formation, the armor knights on either side of her, Celica just behind and the archers and Team Novis just behind her. Abel and Selena, Camilla and Beruka, spread around them protectively. Genny's Physic staff had graced them all at this point. They were all on their second winds... except her and Celica, who were now on their third. 

Elincia landed ahead of them, but guided her pegasus swiftly to the side; she wasn't watching the defenders, she was watching something behind the enemy line. The army was splitting down the middle. In the sun's shadow, Lachesis could only barely make out the shape that was approaching them. But she did make it out. Her blood ran cold. 

A man, just one, by himself. A crimson cape. Black armor, black as night, covering him head to toe. In his right hand, a clawed gauntlet clutched a greatsword nearly as long as Lachesis was tall, its silvery blade gleaming with a dangerous light that even at this distance Lachesis could instantly recognize as divinity. 

Kiran's orders had been very clear. If this man were to stand before them, they were to abandon Tellius, immediately. And Lachesis had understood. Of all of the defenders here, she suspected only she had ever faced a divine weapon before.

"By the mother," Celica whispered, just behind her. "That's - that's him, isn't it? The Black Knight, one of the riders of Daein - the wielder of the divine sword Alondite." 

"Yes," Lachesis said softly. "That's him."

The Emblian army backed away, both from them and from him, until he stood before them all but alone; even Elincia continued to back away, her face white. He moved with such serenity, such ease, that Lachesis wondered if he were some sort of demon of war itself. He planted his blade's tip in the ground before him and stacked his hands on its pommel, and with a booming, imperial voice, he declared: 

"Heroes and defenders of Askr. Your reckoning has come."


	11. Chapter 11

_Jun 6_

 

"We were ordered to retreat if the Black Knight were to join Veronica's forces," Sheena said slowly. "Kiran made a point about that." 

"Yes, she did," Lachesis said softly. She was only half listening. Maybe it was her adrenaline still running high from a full day of fighting almost nonstop, or maybe it was some delirium brought on by her pride, or her self-destructive desires. But whatever it was, something else had taken hold of her, some other force than simple fear. 

"Is this it?" Celica breathed in horror. "After everything we've all endured, this is how it ends?" 

Lachesis shook her head. "It can't be," she whispered. "It can't." She turned to Sheena, who was watching her keenly, her expression painted with dread and yet still filled with determination. For a moment Lachesis forgot it wasn't Ayra. "We can't just let him scare us out of even putting up a fight!"

"Lachesis, listen," Klein warned, "I understand how you feel, but Kiran made it very clear that we don't have the power to defeat the Black Knight. We, as an entire Order, don't have the strength. This is a catastrophe for everyone, not just us. We've got to pull back and warn them what's coming. Kiran must have had some kind contingency in mind - " 

"Then let her know!" Lachesis snarled. "Go back and warn her yourself if you must! But even if all I can do is buy a few more precious seconds, I'm _not_ leaving!" She whirled around, leveling her sword at the knight, who waited patiently at range for them to finish. "Do you hear me?! I'm not afraid of you! I will _not_ give Askr to you!"

"I would be disappointed if you did," remarked the knight. 

"If Lachesis is staying," Sheena said darkly, "then so am I." 

"We are all staying," Celica growled. "Right?" Klein met her gaze, and sighed, nodding with pursed lips.

"Of course," Klein said quietly. "If you all mean to do this, then I have no intent of leaving you to your fates." He turned around. "Everyone, maintain formation around the door. Don't think anything's changed. We just have to keep them away from the gate and stall for as long as possible." 

Contented with that, Lachesis left them behind to their orders. They knew what they were doing, and she knew she could trust them. Her full focus now belonged to the knight, and _only_ to him. As she approached, he lifted his sword from the earth and held it before him in both hands, as serene a ready stance as Lachesis could imagine. 

"One must ask," Lachesis called, her voice sharp and harsh against the reverent quiet of the Emblian line. She slowed now, drawing near enough that their duel was not long to begin. "Do you really think mere ownership of a divine blade gives you the right to stand before us and expect us to tremble, as though you yourself were a god?" 

"What a pointed question," the knight observed. "What know you of divine blades?"

"My brother wielded the demon sword Mystletainn," Lachesis replied, "a weapon whose power could split the earth if he willed it. But I can tell at a glance that you're not even a fraction as worthy of such power as he was."

"You have a sharp tongue," the knight rumbled. 

"Not nearly so sharp as my blade," Lachesis hissed.

 

She lunged in first. She wanted the first strike. 

Lachesis had learned the basics of swordplay by practicing on her own, and had been formally instructed on the art of the duel when she'd returned to Nordion Castle as a young woman. She'd always found duels, in theory, rather romantic - two fighters, champions of opposing ideals, agreeing to the most civilized form of lethal dissent possible. A mutual concession of honor and respect without backing down from one's beliefs. The more she learned about them, the more she loved the thought, and the more she caught herself daydreaming about cutting down the horrid men that surrounded her and Eldigan with righteous grace. 

She'd had her fair share of sparring sessions and staged duels with Eldigan, each of which he was expected to win and so Lachesis had not used her full strength - but the first time she'd been soundly defeated, even trying her hardest, by another fighter was Ayra. And she made it look so simple, yet at the same time, so impossible. She moved at speeds that Lachesis hadn't thought a human could achieve, so fast that Lachesis thought often there somehow were two of her, maybe even more, attacking from many angles at what felt like one time - how could anyone stand up to such a fighter? In awe and desperation she had begged Ayra to teach her. But Ayra wasn't an instructor, she said. The only way she knew how to teach was to fight, and hope you didn't die. 

So they fought often. The first thing they'd done when Lachesis had finally left her room after Eldigan's death was fight. Every night on the road, they fought at least once. Every morning that they rested in a castle, they fought at least once. Lachesis was determined. And they enjoyed it, anyhow. Lachesis learned to move faster. She studied the two-bladed style she used now, specifically to answer Ayra's unbelievable speed. She used different weapons. Lances, blade-winged bows, a wind tome in one hand and the Earth Sword in the other. Oifey and Sigurd had praised her over and over for her tenacity, in training to become a Master Knight, but in all honesty she owed that to Ayra. Ayra who dragged her out of bed at ungodly hours in the morning to train. Ayra who complimented her after every spar, especially when Lachesis found herself disarmed and gracelessly tripped to the ground, laid low, vulnerable. Ayra found something to say, even if it was silly, even if it was half-hearted. Always something positive. Ayra, her greatest ally. 

_"I like that you always take the first strike now,"_ had been one of her compliments. The morning before Belhalla, as everyone else was preparing to move out of Phinora, they'd stolen away for a quick duel to heat their blood and shake off their sleep. Lachesis felt cold and bitter most days back then, but Ayra had been smiling with a curious sadness in her eyes, as though glad for Lachesis' presence and grieving it at the same time, and the softness of her voice had taken Lachesis aback in that moment. _"I like that because it means you always dictate the pace to your opponent. You've gotten good at handling opening ripostes, too. I'm proud of you."_ That was their last duel. It was the only time Ayra had admitted to being proud of her. 

Every strike, every parry, every riposte, every movement of her feet, every single moment of this fight, Lachesis dedicated to her. 

He certainly made her work hard. His armor was so thick that Miracle couldn't pierce it, nor could the Earth Sword leave a mark. She'd have to make a thrusting attack into a joint, and the knight's defense seemed to be built around this understanding. An academic swordsman, and not simply a man with a big stick. It made her feel only more sickened by him than before. 

The reach of Alondite was a problem. Miracle had a good length to it, but Alondite had an advantage by over a foot, not to mention its greater weight and width. Lachesis could catch his strikes in her blade but they still threatened to dislocate her arm. But she didn't have to stop his momentum; she need only ensure his attack wouldn't hit her, guiding it over her head or into the ground beside them, before taking a strike of her own. He was fast, in spite of all of his armor, but wielding two light-weight weapons as she was, she was much faster. She had to take advantage of that speed. 

That meant sweeping and dancing around him, seeking blind spots, picking out whichever part of that massive suit of armor he chose to leave exposed in each attack. She had barely even seconds each time. The delay between the knight's attack being turned aside, and his momentum and center of gravity changing to find a new angle to attack was very short. He didn't try to outspeed her, either; he was aware she was faster, aware that his strength was defense, and instead allowed himself to take crucial moments longer to attack from angles Lachesis didn't expect. Strike right, parry left, fine; strike right again. Parry left again, fine; strike right, _again._ Then left, then right, then overhand and then from below. Trying to force Lachesis to slow down, to move at his speed, or risk opening herself up to an attack she didn't expect. 

The battle raged on around them, but even more than before Lachesis tried to push it out of her mind. For her, this duel was all that mattered. If this man reached anyone else, if he could even sidestep and be within reach of someone else, Lachesis would lose someone, and - and she couldn't let that happen, _ever_ , under any circumstances. She didn't know whether it was fear or respect that led the enemy to give them such a wide berth as they fought, as Lachesis dashed around him and back and forth again - perhaps both? Respect of the knight, and fear of her? Or was it the other way around? 

She heard Celica's voice. High and vicious and nearing the edge of its control. She heard bursts of chaos and fire, she saw brilliant flashes of red. She started to flinch from them as they spread, her focus wavering for just an instant every time. But each time she heard Celica's incantations roaring over the crowd, and she remembered that she was safe, that Celica was protecting her - that she just had to keep fighting, no matter what, as long as she could hear Celica's voice. As long as the others were still fighting - as long as the Black Knight was fighting her, and _only_ her - she could win this. Surviving was what Lachesis did best. 

The knight deflected one of her strikes, and Lachesis twisted her wrist around to angle her sword over herself protectively, sensing a counterattack. But without warning the Black Knight moved with a much greater swiftness - striking rapidly against her defenses, testing her reflexes. Realizing a potentially deadly blow was coming she tried to disengage, but as she scrambled backwards the knight lifted his sword high - Alondite shimmered in the dying sunlight, and began to glow white... she heard someone shouting behind her - 

"Stay back!" she roared, still angling Miracle in front of her, gritting her teeth. The knight had a very clear shot of her. She could try to dodge, but more likely than not, this was just going to hurt an awful lot. 

Alondite came down in a great smashing arc, and the white light bursting from it lashed out as fast as lightning - cleaving a line in heaven and earth alike, splitting even the clouds far overhead. Lachesis, directly in its path, was knocked backwards like a doll that's been punched, tumbling into a small cluster of Emblian soldiers and all but bowling them over. Celica cried out her name in distress, Sheena staggered away in horror - the battle even slowed, for just a moment, around the Knight and his fallen quarry. Slowly he advanced, still clutching his blade tight, as the soldiers scrambled to heft Lachesis under her arms and present her to him. 

Even at a distance, it looked grim. Veronica, glaring down from Soren's old spot atop the fallen gate, could see through the parted armies the line of the Black Knight's strike. A gash in Lachesis' scalp was bleeding down her face. The front of her chestpiece and plateskirt were dinged, even scarred and scratched along the precise line of the Knight's attack. Eclipse was known for its ability to shear through armor whole, and Veronica was pleased to see the devastating attack live up to its reputation. 

But the Black Knight wasn't fooled. That blow shouldn't have merely damaged her armor. It should have cloven it - and her - in two. 

Before he could give any warning, Lachesis suddenly thrashed to life - a golden-bladed dagger flashed in her right hand, ripping through each of the soldiers one by one as they scrambled for balance and distance far too slow. In a lightning frenzy Lachesis had dropped all of them; she reclaimed her sword from the ground and stood tall again, panting, glaring, bloodied - but no weaker than moments before.

"That should have destroyed you," the Black Knight mused. He seemed more curious than threatened. 

"Get used to saying that," Lachesis hissed, and she lunged in once more. 

 

She lost count of how many times Miracle saved her from what should have been a mortal injury, and she simply found a target into which to sink the Earth Sword and drained herself back to vitality. The Black Knight seemed to get annoyed at four, but at that point the night was still so very young. 

She was surrounded in raging fire. She could hear fighting, screams and orders and shouts of force, just beyond the many walls of flame. There were some fighters within her rough enclosure, too - but she ignored them just the same as those more distant. Only the Knight mattered. Only this duel mattered. 

In her mind, she had already conceded her own death. This would be her last fight. It didn't matter if she killed him and stood tall atop his corpse; the Earth Sword's life drain was little different from being healed via staff in that it could only patch up damage, but not repair it entirely. It was more thorough, sure, it tended to restore parts of her that a staff would have trouble reaching with its own energy, but it was still only temporary patches layed over one another, again and again and again. Every blow she was forced to take surely left her with severe internal wounds that would open up again once the fighting ended and the magic binding them together faded away. 

That was no reason to stop fighting. 

The night sky was pitch black, its only light and texture coming from the shadows cast by the taunting flames against their own smoke. Surrounded by fire and darkness, they danced, circling one another, the screeching and pounding of metal on metal punctuating a conversation only they could hear, the dominant sound drowning out all others in the chaotic darkness. Lachesis wondered if she was already dead, or perhaps unconscious. If she were merely dreaming the duel now, doomed to this perpetual nightmare, to fight and survive forever against an invincible enemy. That would be a fair fate for her, she supposed - a woman ever condemned to eternal failure and worthlessness, taking up arms in vain against a foe that cannot be defeated, and yet too stubborn to simply concede, lie down, and die. 

It was this same accursed sword that had kept her alive in Belhalla. It was this same damn situation. A battle fought in desperation against an enemy that she had no hope of defeating. But now - now she could hear Celica's voice on the wind, ever reminding her that she was not alone, that someone else was still alive. Someone was still fighting with her. 

She remembered Belhalla now. It was all but surrounding her, after all. This place could have been the very same. It could be the projection of her memory, her hate and rage against the would-be Emperor that inflicted all this upon her, and she'd be none the wiser. But she was glad she was here, whether it was merely a trick of her mind's eye or not, because she remembered something very important about Belhalla, something that brought her the faintest sense of forgiveness - something that, in her guilt and horror, she'd cast aside and forgotten. 

Yes, she'd failed everyone in Belhalla. She was still a failure, a sinner, and a devil. But she had fought back with all of her fury. She remembered that now. For all her faults, a coward she was not, and never would be. 

Eldigan, her brother, her idol, her one true King - ever had others called him the Lionheart. A name that suited him, one that brought her pride to hear, for he most certainly had the heart of the greatest and most honorable of all living things. And some had called her that, as well. Nordion's lioness. 

But it felt wrong to wear. It felt wrong to compare herself, even in metaphor, to Eldigan. What was she, after all? A pale moon feebly reflecting but a fraction of Eldigan's glory, a bastard daughter in all but technicality whose virtue came only second-hand, whose only claim to goodness was in her desire to please a brother for whom she held sinful feelings... stained and dirty was she, never to hold such greatness as was destined for Eldigan. To stand by his side, and not in his shadow, was already a greater honor than she would ever deserve. 

Some of their court found it unbecoming, even disrespectful, for her to respond to the title with anything less than enthusiasm. But it seemed to make such perfect sense to Eldigan. 

_"Not quite a lion, I think,"_ he had said, briefly baring a gentle smile that only Lachesis seemed to draw to his face. _"Just as regal, just as dangerous, but far more beautiful. What makes a worthy sister to a lion? A tiger, perhaps?"_

_The Tiger of Nordion,_ they'd scoffed; perhaps at the time Eldigan meant the title only as a joke, some way to ease the tension in that moment. But after his passing Lachesis had embraced this new title with great fervor, and cloaked herself in it in battle. A lion is known for bravado and valor, an honorable and inspiring creature, even when that leads it to its doom - but a tiger is a fearsome predator, an embodiment of elegant savagery and tenacity. A tiger will do whatever it takes to survive. She will accept no compromise, hold no quarter, and show no mercy. The world is a wild and dangerous place, and in the wild, there is no greater enemy than the tiger. 

 

"How?! How are they still alive?!" 

Veronica's outbursts grew only more violent as the night deepened, as the morning threatened to come ever sooner. Soren, at this point, didn't have an answer for her. He remembered watching Ike dueling the Black Knight in the Tower of Guidance, how long it had felt and yet how quickly it had passed when Ike finally found his opening and struck a killing blow - but this was... something entirely different, something far more awful. 

That woman had no chance. She just wasn't strong enough, or fast enough, and her sword didn't possess the power to break through Zelgius' divine armor. But despite that, she threw herself at him, again and again - she'd get hit by an Eclipse, an attack that by all rights had the power to shatter the castle gate by itself - and she'd somehow heal herself and rise back up and start again. She couldn't survive like that forever; whatever magic she was using, it was no different in the end from using a staff to overheal yourself repeatedly - your body would eventually just give out. Even if she stalled long enough for reinforcements to arrive, she probably wouldn't survive the sheer exertion. 

But the fact that Soren was even _thinking_ about that - ! It should be absolutely unimaginable for a single woman, without a divine weapon, to survive any encounter at all against the wielder of Alondite, let alone for _hours on end_ \- what was happening here was nothing short of a miracle, and with every passing moment that it didn't end, Veronica's rage continued to climb. 

Elincia had already been gravely wounded twice by the royal wyvern rider's axe, and Soren suspected it was because the queen was too bitter and shocked and in grief to fight properly. Without Elincia to lead them, the remaining pegasus knights were more of a liability than anything else, so they'd already been scattered - with only two wyvern riders the enemy somehow had taken air superiority, when they should have absolutely been denied it. No matter how Veronica tried to position her ground forces, there simply wasn't enough distance for her to outflank their knights and their armor - they'd cluster up, an archer and mage would support them, and they'd cut through whatever stood in front of them. Titania lost a few men to what should've been an excellent ride by attack on the defenders, because they just reacted too quickly for Titania to take advantage properly. Gatrie tried a second approach with the remains of his armor unit, but they were decimated and nearly blown away for his trouble. No matter how many men they tried to send at the gate, that damned fire mage would cleave the ground with her spells, burning through trenches and shields and whatever else, restricting their movements and destroying anyone unlucky enough to be caught in the open. 

She'd even gotten the better of Mia. Who'd have thought? A powerful mage that's skilled enough at swordplay to force Mia back? 

"You," Veronica hissed, from her perch atop the gate. As Soren looked up at her she pointed at him with a dangerous light in her eyes. "Why are you standing there?!"

Soren briefly considered giving her a serious answer. "Do you want us to engage them?" he asked instead, his voice steady as he could manage.

"Yes! Yes." Veronica huffed, straightened herself, and gestured forward. "It's clear these second-rate Heroes won't cut it. Ike, Soren, Xander - finish them off."

Soren took a deep breath, turning to Ike as he hefted Ragnell onto his shoulder. Nothing for it. If they wanted to win this, they'd have to end the fight themselves. 

 

When the pain came back to Lachesis' body, it was sudden. She staggered back from a parry with a sharp hiss, the whole world pulsing red, everything around her growing dim and faint for a moment - but she refocused her attention, she couldn't lose sight of the Black Knight - 

But he was hesitating. Around him, the chaos was drawing ever closer. She could barely make anything out over tears building out of control in her eyes. She couldn't even pin anywhere in her body that hurt worse than anywhere else - it felt like all of her was on fire, every movement sending rippling pains like branching lightning - any more of this and she'd be all but paralyzed. 

But she couldn't give up! She couldn't stop yet!

She drew herself up with a roar and threw her full weight behind another parry as the Black Knight bore down on her; she smashed Alondite aside and thrust towards his shoulders, but he pulled back and her attack glanced off of his chestpiece. He stepped back, and Lachesis stumbled back as well, panting, groaning in agony. Her legs were shaking. She was going to collapse. 

"Your resolve has impressed me," the knight said, holding Alondite before him in both hands once again. "But you've reached your limits."

Lachesis hazarded a glance aside, desperate for good news. Emblian and Crimean forces seemed to be pulling away from them, pushed back by a fresh wave of milky white spiritual soldiers - but that seemed to only give their stingers, the Crimean Heroes, room to work. Prince Xander had joined the fray, now clashing ferociously with Camilla, who roared at him at the top of her lungs something only she and Xander were destined to hear over deafening fire and steel. The beautiful red-haired paladin from the first attack was leading around a small contingent of cavalry against Selena, Beruka, and Abel. From towards the gate, she saw Ike and Soren approaching, but somehow standing in their way already was - was Celica? 

Soren hesitated as he saw her, as she brandished her sword in her right arm while her left hand clutched at her side; she was shaking, clearly in intense pain, reaching her own limits as staff fatigue began to set in. But even still, her eyes flashed viciously, her intent terribly clear: you will come no closer to her. 

"Let's clear her out," Ike grunted. Soren nodded, brandishing his tome. 

Celica lunged. No - she didn't really lunge - she _flew_ at them, she was somehow instantly on top of them. Soren jumped, so startled by her speed he lost focus - when she smashed her blade against Ragnell it was with a bloodthirsty roar, not a battlecry, and she smashed against him as though only trying to push him aside - _she was targeting Soren_ \- 

But Ike was too large, too heavy, and just fast enough to keep her in place. She couldn't maintain that same pressure for more than a few strikes, as frightening as they were. Soren faced disruption from mages in the back of their formation, near the gate, but easily blasted them off their feet with Excalibur to give Ike enough room to work. He knocked the poor woman to the ground within moments. 

Camilla's wyvern roared, its volume perhaps matched only by a piercing, grieving wail from Camilla herself - but she didn't have time to do much more; her mount toppled to the ground, and Xander all but rode over her, brandishing hooves and Siegried alike at her as she lay prone below him. Geoffrey rode through an opening found at last between a beleagured Sheena and Effie, only the former of whom still had the strength to stand; pinned between the Crimean Royal Knight's lances and bows and Titania's greataxe, Beruka and the horses were trapped, as Titania shouted at them to drop their weapons in some vain hope that Veronica might not order their death after all. 

Klein and Gordin were out of arrows. Mae was heaving for breath on her knees, and Boey was just as slow to rise as the enemy closed in around them. Genny's spiritual soldiers were fading away, and Genny herself was slumped against the wall beside the gate, feeling faint, all her strength utterly spent. Turning full circle, Lachesis searched desperately for any sign of hope. And she found nothing. 

The fighting stopped. The noise began to die down. Of all her defenders only Lachesis still stood ready to fight, and even then, she trembled at just the idea of moving against the horrible searing pain in every joint of her body. The Knight stood before her, solemn and silent. Waiting. 

Ike and Soren stepped aside. Veronica was coming. She broke through the formation until she stood within proximity of their fight, close enough to take in the defender's state, and to stare up at the gate rather thoughtfully. Lachesis' eyes were fixed on her now. Shaking. An opportunity was upon her. 

"Knight of Daein," Veronica ordered. "Destroy the gate." 

"As you will." The knight turned, raising his sword - it glowed white - _No!!_ Lachesis lunged without thinking; if such a blow were to land on the gate it would split open, but if she clutched Miracle tight and stood in its way -- 

Sure enough, the shockwave broke against her body and dissipated before it could reach the gate, but Lachesis herself was sent tumbling across scorched earth until she lay near Genny, face-down and motionless.

"No!" Celica cried, scrambling upright; she stumbled, but sprinted across the expanse of dust to collapse at Lachesis' side, whimpering her name, desperate that she might rise again. All eyes, from friend and foe alike, were fixed on the pair, as Celica gathered her up in her arms and began to sob, as the last shred of hope and zeal for the defense finally fell. The defenders' arms grew slack. Their will to resist was fading. The battle was over. Embla had won.

Veronica cleared her throat. "Destroy the gate," she repeated, now clearly impatient. The knight lifted his sword again. 

"Not yet," Lachesis rasped. 

He paused. Against the morning quiet, even the scraps of her broken voice were enough to be heard by everyone standing around the gate. Celica was helping her, but that didn't matter - Lachesis stood up, _again_ , still clutching Miracle in one hand and the Earth Sword in the other. Cuts marred her body, her own blood now covering most of her exposed skin, her garments and armor in disgraceful shreds and tatters - but she herself stood, as tall as she was able, hobbling forward to stand once again between the Black Knight and the gate. 

Again. 

"Not yet," she repeated between heaving breaths, glaring into his helmet. "The Tiger of Nordion... still lives. So you still haven't won." 

 

Veronica couldn't take it any more. 

 

She stormed forward. Lachesis, her attention entirely on the Black Knight, didn't notice until Celica cried out with alarm, but by then it was too late. She had watched Lachesis take far too many lethal blows and rise up from them far too many times, and enough was enough. In a fit of rage she whipped open her tome - the world pulsed dangerously as the fabric of reality itself began to warp around her - and she lashed out at Lachesis, directing a pulse of otherworldly power through her; it crackled through her fingers, air and space tearing open in its wake. Lachesis raised her sword against it, and Celica in a fit of panic tried to cast something at it, too - feathers surrounding her burned and decaying arms, a brilliant light surrounding Lachesis like an angelic shield - the holy energy and the eldritch blackness mixed violently and exploded, and Lachesis was knocked back once more, her sword tumbling to the ground a full ten feet from her. 

Finally, thought Veronica, we can get on with this. In her triumph she hesitated, allowed herself a moment to bask in her satisfaction. 

Why wouldn't she? She'd won. She could see plainly, in her field of view, each of Lachesis' defenders - fallen to their knees, blades at their neck, except for Celica who had crawled oh so pitifully to hover over what surely was Lachesis' corpse by now. The Order of Heroes' presence in Tellius was defeated. And in thinking that, perhaps you could say she was right. 

But she was far from safe. 

Her only warning was a thin, high-pitched whistling; Xander and the Black Knight both recognized that sound but hadn't enough time to react before it was accompanied by the sound of defeat: a soft, wet _thunk_ of a thrown dagger meeting flesh. 

Kagero didn't have a whole lot of time to line up the throw. The opportunity had come so fast, so suddenly, and she really just wanted to make sure she landed _any_ damage on the Emblian princess. Besides - a poison dagger need not strike the heart directly. Either way, Veronica stumbled back in shock and screamed, clearly not accustomed to mortal pain; the Black Knight caught her as she nearly collapsed, then handed her off to Xander as he rode to her side. He, wisely, turned towards not the keep's gate - but the way they'd come, towards the ruined outer wall. And just in time, too, to see a massive formation of wyverns and pegasi swoop down from overhead in an arrowhead formation, charging through the courtyard straight at the exhausted Emblian attackers. 

Kiran, riding just behind Minerva at the front of the formation, jumped off of the wyvern's back once they were at reasonable height and tumbled to a stop on the courtyard grounds; she fired in rapid succession in a circle around her, summoning first her core line-breakers formation - Alm, Tiki, Corrin, Hector - and as they created space for her, she continued to fire as fast as she could load her spirit orbs; Eirika and Ephraim, Leo and Cecilia and Elise, Eliwood and Roy - all of a sudden the courtyard was flooded with new attackers. 

Lachesis, propped up against Celica's quivering shoulder, stared at the erupting chaos in awe. She hardly believed what she was seeing. Though she thought it might take all the strength she had left, she turned her head slowly to face Celica, who managed a tiny smile back. "We won," the mage mouthed. Lachesis could see tendrils of black decay that had spread from her shoulders up to her neck. 

"Am I dreaming?" Lachesis whispered. She faded away before she could hear Celica's answer.


	12. Chapter 12

Lachesis' next moment of awareness was of harsh light against her eyelids and an immense pain and weakness throughout her whole body. She struggled to lift or turn her head, to make some sound of pain or cognizance - but took her some time to have the strength built up for either. She could hear people speaking around her, but only very dimly, as though through a wall. 

She tried to open her eyes, but the light was too harsh against them and burned immediately and she had to shy away; she heard the speaking voices gasp. "Lachesis?" one of them said. "Are you awake?" 

"Mmmuh," was Lachesis' very humiliating response. She just couldn't form a more coherent word yet. She tried to open her eyes again, squinting now to keep the light out; someone with straight, brilliantly red hair was hovering over her, and as Lachesis blinked to clear her tearful, blurry vision, she soon recognized her eyes and face as well. "Prissa," she mumbled. 

"Yes," Priscilla said softly, smiling warmly at her. Back during the siege of the Nohrian capitol, she and Priscilla had been in charge of the field infirmary there; she was a talented if skittish healer, to Lachesis' memory. "How do you feel? I thought you'd be asleep much longer." 

"Bad," Lachesis whimpered. 

"Yes, I'm sure." Priscilla pursed her lips before turning away - Lachesis heard something dripping, and when Priscilla turned back to her she reached up to place something on Lachesis' forehead - a neatly folded cloth soaked through in warm water - and Lachesis sighed in relief as its gentle heat spread through her face and neck, relaxing her shoulders, dulling the angry swelling pain there. "Is that a little better?"

"Mhm." Lachesis nodded slowly, closing her eyes. She wet her lips and swallowed, her throat scratching painfully with the motion. "Water...?"

"I have some here. I'll help." She guided Lachesis' lips to the edge of a glass and delicately poured water into her mouth - Lachesis greedily drinking as much as was offered, as quickly as she could; it must have been quite a large glass because it seemed to take a while before it was finally exhausted. Lachesis again wet her lips and swallowed, now without nearly as much dry tearing. "Better?"

"Much," Lachesis agreed, taking a deep breath and sighing it back out. 

"Still in pain?" 

"Yes," Lachesis murmured. "But... one could ask for worse..." 

"I suppose if what they're saying about your battle is true, then you'd be right," Priscilla said softly. "For now, you're best off just resting as much as you can. We'll be due for more treatment this evening. Can I do anything else for you in the meantime?"

Lachesis wrinkled her nose. "What happened? Where... is everyone else? Is Celica okay?" 

"There are a few people who will be very excited to hear that you're awake," Priscilla offered. "I'll fetch them for you. I'm sure they can explain better than I."

But Lachesis shook her head. She had a different question. "How bad is it?" 

"Your condition?" Priscilla hummed thoughtfully. "It's good, all things considered." Her explanation went on to confirm many of Lachesis' suspicions: Lachesis had torn muscles in nearly every part of her body, though the tearing was worst in her shoulders, upper thighs, wrists, and ankles; all told she would struggle to move her upper body or twist her arms without excruciating pain, and any form of walking was completely out of the question. Additionally, she'd suffered multiple fractures in both ankles and her sword arm, as well as several snapped ribs. 

It sounded horrible, but Priscilla was right; for what she'd done to herself, she really deserved worse. She looked like a mess, certainly - bandages tightly wrapped over most of her body that restricted her movement and braces on almost every major joint - but none of it posed any real threat to her life, and as handicapped as she was in the moment, it would all heal reasonably well with consistent treatment and rest. 

Not that she could bring herself to be happy about it. "So," she grumbled, "how many weeks, out of combat?" 

"At least three," Priscilla said, and this time very firmly. "At _least,_ " she repeated. "Understand? Even once the sprains heal your body is going to be very weak and sensitive for quite a while, and Kiran's made it very clear that she can't afford for your injuries to recur. No more insubordination this time, okay? Doctor's _and_ Kiran's orders." 

Lachesis sighed, swallowing again, shrugging limply. "I guess it can't be helped, then," she sighed. "What about... everyone else?"

"Most everyone is in better shape than you," Priscilla sighed, smiling with relief. "You'll see in a moment. I'll be right back, okay?" 

 

At very first eye contact, Mae sprinted at the bed and threw her arms around Lachesis - suffocating her a bit, but Lachesis' only real lament as the girl quickly bounded back up onto her feet was that she didn't have the strength yet to hug the girl back. "It's so good to see you well," she said instead, smiling so wide her cheeks hurt. 

"Heh, yeah!" Mae flexed with both arms. "It'll take more than that to put ME outta commission!" 

"You and I were in the safest position on the battlefield," Boey added pointedly, now approaching the bed to stand beside her. His smirk died down a little as his eyes turned to Lachesis. "We have her to thank we weren't more seriously hurt." 

"Well, yeah!" Mae pouted. "I was getting to that part." She sighed, pulling a chair up and sitting down, scooting up within close proximity of the bed. "So, how're ya feeling? Doc seemed worried about you but I know you're way too tough for a little scuffle like that to kill you." 

Lachesis giggled. Her throat wasn't really prepared to handle it and she coughed at the end. "I suppose your faith was well placed," she rasped. "But I'll be paying for last night for a few weeks, it sounds like."

"Last ni-" Mae gasped. "Ohh. Lachesis, uh, it's been like... a full day since then."

"Wha-?" Lachesis blinked, but - well, she supposed that sounded right, didn't it? "Oh," she sighed. "Oh, well, one does struggle to count time while blacked out in a hospital bed, so..." 

"Oh, don't sweat it, one can be forgiven for not knowing better." Mae winked. "But yeah, we all did some time, so don't feel too bad. Boey and I both felt like our arms were gonna come off at the end of all that, so I can only imagine how bad it was for everybody else. We just had to carry some books around and gesture a bunch." 

As they chatted, most everyone came in to say hi at some point or another; Abel and Gordin, the latter sporting a sling and cast on his left arm, were the first to visit. Then Camilla, flanked by her retainers, as Selena helped her stand straight and Beruka acted as her mobile hands - including giving Lachesis a hug, on Camilla's behalf. By this time Lachesis had regained enough strained mobility in her arm to gingerly wrap it around Beruka's back for a moment. The girl was blushing when she pulled back and didn't seem to want to look Lachesis in the eye. Then, of course, Selena asked her to give Lachesis a hug on _her_ behalf, too, but after some fussing Camilla reclined against a far wall so that Selena could do it instead. 

"I don't think we'd have gotten through that without you," Selena murmured, when only Lachesis could hear her. "Thanks." Then she pulled back before Lachesis could answer, pretending she hadn't said anything. They seemed like sweet girls. Camilla was fortunate to have their company.

Sheena hobbled in a little later, assisted by crutches - she jovially explained that she'd apparently snapped her leg in multiple places throughout the fight, but never really noticed thanks to their staff abuse. She was in very high spirits, almost to a point that felt strange to Lachesis, not to mention her continual flattery and repeated expressions of thanks, until - 

"I wish I had known a princess as noble as you in my childhood," she said, near the end of their conversation. She was smiling warmly, something distant and young in her eyes that didn't seem to belong on the rest of her. "I might have stood up to my father and to the Emperor sooner, if only I'd looked up to someone with your courage." 

Lachesis couldn't handle that. She laughed and then burst into tears. Sheena gasped and shuffled forward in alarm, wondering what on earth she'd said - but Lachesis choked out, halfway between laughing and sobbing, "Y-You just remind me so much of... of someone that I loved and looked up to, as my own sister, and... I'm sorry, Sheena..."

"Oh, no," Sheena breathed. "I should be one to apologize..."

"No," Lachesis protested, laughing weakly again, managing to clasp one of Sheena's hands in both her own. "No," she repeated, firmly, "don't be sorry. I..." She sniffled. "I'm so honored by your praise. I hope that we can be friends."

"I would be honored," Sheena said softly, smiling. 

Maybe if she hadn't already been worn down by Sheena's visit, she would have handled Elise's better - Elise sprinted into the room without warning and threw herself at Lachesis, already a streaking comet of hugs and sobs and high-pitched desperate thanks; they had to peel her off and calm her down considerably just to get her to explain who she even was: Camilla's little sister, and Effie's liege - though she referred to Effie, who hovered unsteadily in the doorway with a big blush and a shy smile, as her 'very bestest best friend' and nothing any less intimate. Poor Elise had been a vital part of the offensive in Valentia and had spent the entire time obsessed with worry over her big sister and best friend, and when she learned just how much they'd all managed to survive - and heard Effie admit that they probably owed it to Lachesis and her leadership - well, Elise got pretty emotional. Lachesis did, too. 

 

"I gotta be honest with you," Mae admitted, once they'd had a few moments of quiet again. "Especially after that first argument you and I had, I wouldn't have ever expected you to be so, uh... weepy." 

"Weepy," Lachesis snapped, smirking. "How dare. One ought not tolerate such diminuitive language from the likes of you. I am a sensitive, emotional princess. Why on earth should that be surprising?"

"W-Well, I don't mean it in a bad way," Mae backpedaled, "I mean... you're..." She sighed theatrically. "I mean, I guess you've just gone and proven me wrong, but don't you remember? That whole episode where you drew your sword on me and were all, 'How dare you insult me! I won't tolerate such displays of disrespect!'"

"Oh." Lachesis blinked, because she'd actually almost entirely forgotten about that. "Oh! Goodness, yes. No, one spoke only in jest just now, and that - that..." She felt herself flushing, and sighed, frowning at Mae. "Mae, I don't know what to say," she admitted. "Nor to you, Boey. I treated both of you so poorly during your first few days in Tellius, and yet you've repaid me with such earnest loyalty that... frankly, I don't feel I deserve." 

"Oh, it's not that at all," Mae gasped. "No, I mean... I..." She looked helplessly at Boey, and Boey sighed slowly, nodding. 

"I guess I can only speak for myself," he said, "but you reminded me of Celica, and that was just... hard. The Celica we know has a big heart and a strong spirit, and... well, you know. She's just not been herself for a long time now. Meeting you, it was like... maybe there's no hope for her. Maybe this is just who she is now." 

"But you're not like that now!" Mae said hurriedly. "You've changed a lot. That's all I meant to say, it's like - it's like you've opened up so much since then, and it even seems like Celica's doing a little better, too. It's just surprised me, because when we first met, I don't think I'd have ever guessed that you'd get so emotional over being appreciated like this." 

"I see." Lachesis nodded faintly. "Perhaps you expected something like... 'Show me you're thankful by being ready for the next fight!' Or some similar nonsense." Mae chuckled a little nervously; Lachesis sighed, and turned away. "I was never a good princess, being honest. I wasn't meant to lead or inspire people, and as a girl I didn't really understand what was so good about those heroes everyone looked up to. Being a prince or a princess, or a king, didn't make you a person worthy of such praise. That's what I thought.

"But then I met my brother, and... I met his friends, as well. Truly beautiful, virtuous people, beyond my wildest expectations. They were like beacons of kindness and honor that shone brightly in a world filled with darkness, and... I wanted to be like them, even though I was afraid I couldn't." 

_And now, they're gone, and I'm only alive because I ran._

By the end of this, her voice was a little choked up, but... well, so what? It hurt to remember, because she loved them all. How strange that this feeling had felt so foolish to her before, that even now it felt a little shameful that she would tear up in front of her friends, but... they already knew she was prone to emotional fits, they might as well have some idea why. 

Mae and Boey were quiet, but... reverently quiet. They allowed her a moment to breathe, before Mae spoke, in a gentle and sincere voice: "I think they would all be proud of you." 

"I think you have a lot to be proud of," Boey agreed. Lachesis smiled. It didn't feel like a forced or strained smile, even though she wasn't sure there was any happiness behind it. It was just... it was just how she felt. 

"Thank you."

 

It was time for them to take their leave after that. They had watch shifts to attend to, and Lachesis hadn't eaten much throughout the day. It took her a little time to work through her softened foods, and they didn't impart much strength into her, but she stubbornly remained awake. She still had something to do. 

Priscilla seemed already aware when she came over to take Lachesis' tray away; she seemed already aware of Lachesis' intent, and promptly brought over a wheelchair once her tray was taken away; with no small amount of effort, Lachesis was able to turn herself around towards the bed's edge, and from there Priscilla helped her down into the chair and gently pushed her through the designated infirmary ward of the castle towards the other intensive care rooms. 

Genny's room was dark and she was fast asleep. She had little notes left beside her table, which Priscilla explained had all been left there by the other members of Team Novis just that evening, presumably while Lachesis was eating. Lachesis eventually left her one, too. According to her caretakers, Genny had taken ill with a very high fever just after the battle, but despite her exhaustion and overcasting was recovering well. She would just need plenty of rest. When she was feeling better, Lachesis was looking forward to thanking her for her exemplary service and support - the defense would not have succeeded without her, she knew that without a doubt. 

"When Mae and Boey come to visit her," Lachesis whispered, "notify me. I'd like to be brought along as well."

"As you wish," Priscilla replied. 

The next room down was Celica's. She was sitting up in her bed with a book open in front of her, so thoroughly wrapped in bandages that if not for her hair and strikingly beautiful eyes, Lachesis might not have recognized her. She glanced towards the door as it opened - and gasped. 

"Lachesis," she whispered, smiling with awe and relief. "Oh, you're alright..."

Priscilla pushed her over to the bed, and then gave them a bit of distance. Lachesis gingerly took Celica's hand in her own, stroking over her wrist and smiling into her eyes, as Celica smiled back. "I'm glad you're awake," Lachesis breathed. "You've a lot of bandages, though."

"Yes," Celica sighed a bit sadly, "the... the necrosis spread pretty far. The night just after the battle they had to bring in special purification staves from another land, and apparently they went through several before it stopped spreading..."

"Oh, gods," Lachesis gasped, reaching up hesitantly towards the wrappings over her cheek - Celica winced and leaned into her touch, allowing Lachesis to carefully pull the gauze back and reveal an angry, swollen black scar creeping up towards her eyes. "That's horrific," she whispered. "I'm so relieved they were able to stop it." 

"Yes, me too," Celica agreed quietly. "It was, erm... I could've chosen many less painful ways to die, let's say that."

In spite of herself Lachesis snorted, gently returning the wrappings to their place and straightening up in her chair again. "Let's not think of it that way," she offered. "I'm glad that you're alright."

"I'm glad you are, too." Celica smiled.

Lachesis turned back over her shoulder to Priscilla, who smiled prettily, attentive to whatever Lachesis may want. "Could we be alone for a few moments?" she asked. 

"Oh! Oh?" Priscilla blinked, and then flushed. "Um, yes! Yes. I'm sorry." 

"It's not a problem," Lachesis assured her. "Just a few minutes."

"No, no," Priscilla urged her, "take your time. I'll be right outside." She curtsied, then showed herself out, swiftly and quietly. Lachesis sighed and chuckled as she turned back to Celica. 

"She seems nice," Celica said softly. 

They were quiet for a few moments.

"We won," Celica hummed, her smile growing a little. 

"Yes," Lachesis sighed, slumping forward against the bed. "Yes... we won." 

"It turns out we still can do some good after all. Even if only barely." 

 

Kiran returned from sortie very late that night, exhausted and halfway frantic with worry for the defenders' critical condition. When she went to check on Lachesis and Celica, however, she found Priscilla fast asleep sitting just outside Celica's door - and poking her head inside, she saw Celica asleep in her bed, and Lachesis laying forward from her wheelchair onto the bed in front of her, her arms curled protectively around Celica's right hand. She delicately slipped in and doused the lamp, then crept back out and shut the door again, smiling with relief to herself. 

They deserved their rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> I really love Lachesis and Celica, and I feel like their base games didn't really give them the resolution and focus they deserved, as very complex and wounded characters that still have a lot of healing ahead of them. This fic was a joy to write, even if it hurt my heart a little (or a lot) to really have to examine just how badly hurt they are. 
> 
> Cinders is going to continue with a tone a little bit more like this fic, with occasional side-stories or intermissions with a lighter mood. But, Act V was as far ahead as I wrote when I started posting things, and I haven't been able to keep up because of some health issues/work being very busy over the summer. That's not to say there's nothing at all written up yet, but I like to give myself a bit of a lead, so it might be a little time before Act 6 comes. I hope you look forward to it! 
> 
> Also - if you like my writing you should also check out my Tumblr, sylvasthesnowfox (there's a link in my profile, too). I'll be posting updates about the status of Cinders there, as well as other projects (some Fire Emblem, but also many other franchises) and even some OC writing and short stories that don't ever get posted to Ao3. 
> 
> Thank you again for reading!


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